It’s always been the case that holiday homes have been relatively reasonable across Europe – especially in places like Spain and Portugal.
But with the cost of living on the rise across the world – and Spain planning to double the price of property by hitting Brits with 100% holiday home tax – it feels like that’s no longer the case.
There is always the option to buy a €1 villa in many parts of Italy.
But if you don’t fancy the hassle of renovating a property, there’s also an area in France where you can still bag a holiday home for just £75,000.
In an upcoming episode of A Place in the Sun, airing tomorrow, 8th January, presenter Craig Rowe heads to Limousin, France, with best friends Fiona and Tina who are looking for a holiday home with a maximum budget of £80,000.
Craig told The Sun: ‘I’ve spent a lot of time in France, but for this show we were in Haute-Vienne – and I was amazed at the prices.
‘At first when we were looking through the properties I said to my producer, “I think we’re going to struggle to get something decent for that price”.
‘But you’d be amazed at what we found which were really good properties – and that really surprised me.’
If you don’t fancy the hassle of renovating a property, you can still bag a holiday home for just £75,000 in the French region of Limousin
In an upcoming episode of A Place in the Sun, airing tomorrow, 8th January, presenter Craig Rowe heads to Limousin with best friends Fiona and Tina who are looking for a holiday home with a maximum budget of £80,000
Eventually, Fiona and Tina managed to find their dream property for £75,000 – £5,000 less than they budgeted for.
If you’re looking for a beachside property, Limousin isn’t for you – as the inland region, which sits between Lyon and Poitiers, is miles away from the coast.
However, it’s one of the greenest parts of France, and famed for its thousands of lakes and nature reserves – where you can take part in water sports.
It has even been dubbed the ‘French Lake District’.
France Comfort Holiday Parks notes that some of the prettiest villages in the Limousin region are ‘Collonges-la-Rouge with its red houses, Turenne located on top of a hill, and Aubusson, which is known for its tapestries.
Limousin is also home to the Château de Crozant, of which the ruins are still visible today.
At one time, the Crozant was one of the most powerful castles in France, and was often visited by impressionist painters, such as Monet and Guillaumin, who travelled there to paint.
Elsewhere in the region, there is France’s third-largest library situated in the abbey, as well as many shops and boutiques in the centre.
It’s one of the greenest regions of France, and famed for its thousands of lakes and nature reserves – where you can take part in water sports
Some of the prettiest villages in the Limousin region are Collonges-la-Rouge with its red houses, Turenne located on top of a hill (pictured), and Aubusson, known for its tapestries
Craig added: ‘It’s a beautiful region filled with little patisseries and boulangeries, which is everything I love about France.
‘It has lots of beautiful French towns, and of course, lots of lakes so you won’t miss being by the coast – and if you want to visit a city then Bordeaux isn’t far away.
‘There’s still an expat community, and as we found, properties are really good value.
‘With prices going up all over the world, it’s great to find these pockets where you can still get a really good bargain.’
