What can you buy in France for the price of a Parisian studio? Look for yourself, you can always find a bargain somewhere: the sea, the mountains, the Caribbean....

Real estate prices in Paris are still around 10,000 € per square meter. If you want to buy a studio, you will have to spend an average of €267,000.

But for that price, you can buy a 206-meter apartment in Saint-Etienne or a 100-meter apartment in a ski resort. Thanks to the PAP study, it is possible to see real estate prices at purchase comparable to the price of a Parisian studio!

A studio is an apartment with one room and an average size of 25 square meters. Studios are very popular in Paris, both for temporary living and as an investment for real estate professionals. But here's the problem - everyone thinks of Paris, and the capital remains very expensive despite recent price reductions. The median price of a studio in Paris is €267,000. The cheapest neighborhood is La Chapelle (203,900 €) and the most expensive is Odeon (400,000 €, median price).

Buying a studio in Paris guarantees you a property that will lose little or no value. There is no more secure investment property, but there is also no more expensive one.

Up to 206 square meters for 267,000 € in major cities

• Most French major cities offer high prices, but nothing compares to Paris! In most cases, you will get twice as much space as in Lyon, Bordeaux or Aix-en-Provence.
• In other cases, with a budget of 267,000 € the area is no longer a problem:
• Saint-Etienne (42): 206 square meters.
• Le Havre (76): 119 square meters.
• Toulon (83): 105 square meters.
• Reims (51): 103 square meters.
• Grenoble (38): 99 square meters.
• Rouen (76): 94 square meters.
• Marseille (13): 89 square meters.
• Montpellier (34): 80 square meters.
• Rennes (35): 70 square meters.
• Nantes (44): 68 square meters.
• Lille (59): 69 square meters.
• Nice (06): 60 square meters.
• Bordeaux (33): 57 square meters.
• Aix-en-Provence (13): 57 square meters.
• Lyon (69): 52 square meters.

A house with an area of 260 square meters in Nevers

If you move away from big cities, you can find real gems immersed in nature. For example, in Nièvre, the cost per square meter is around €1,000. This makes it one of the cheapest departments in France. Here, the issue of square meters is not as pressing as in large cities. The ideal conversion scale partially loses its relevance, and for a price of €267,000, you can find a house of about 260 square meters, or even much larger. This is the advantage of less crowded areas, where demand is more favorable for buyers. With wild nature, lakes, and mountain peaks just two and a half hours from Paris, this region is full of promise. In this area, you can find unusual homes, such as a fully restored former postal relay station, on more than 2,000 square meters of land, with fruit trees and four horse stalls, made of Burgundy stone.

An apartment with an area of 100 square meters at a ski resort

For the price of a Paris studio, €267,000, you can buy an apartment of about 100 square meters in the mountains. The Isère department has an average price of €2,561 per square meter, which applies not only to valley resorts but also to mountain resorts.

Fully equipped barge

The freedom to move around, change cities, and wake up under a new sun. This is possible by buying a barge. When we think of housing, we think of an apartment, a house with a pool, or a renovated farmhouse, but we never think of boats. You can live on a barge year-round without even moving it. Just like with residential properties, the prices of barges vary depending on luxury and size. Some may cost around €30,000, while others can be several hundred thousand euros, but for comfortable living, a certain number of amenities will be needed. The advantage is that you can live in very expensive cities like Paris, where many barges are docked at the Arsenal port or under the Neuilly bridge. For the docking fees paid for the barge's stay in the port, you need to contact the French Waterways. You also have to pay property tax every year.

Castles, water mills, former monasteries

In addition to state properties, there is a whole range of unusual objects that can sometimes be bought for a pittance. Many of these properties require serious renovation work if you plan to acquire them for less than €300,000. You need to be prepared to live in places where the past can be burdensome, but which have a certain charm. Places that also allow you to realize any fantasies thanks to their spaciousness and the interconnection of rooms. There are many listings for castles available online for a few hundred thousand euros. In this case, square meters don't matter. It's about being part of the national heritage and revitalizing it. A symbolic act for future generations.

Also read: REAL ESTATE | The French maintain interest in real estate despite rising interest rates