What am I getting for my birthday?

Yes, today is my birthday and I’ve been thinking about what I might like for my birthday. We’re coming to you live on location in France. 

If you’ve been wondering where you might want to retire, living the dream of owning a large, spectacular and historic building in many countries can often be somewhat difficult to realise. Not so, in France.

Many people thinking about retirement consider selling the suburban home and finding a place in the warm south where they don’t have to shovel snow or deal with the impersonal nature of most big cities. 

Almost every region om France has its share of imposing tower-topped chateaux dominating the landscape. 

French chateaux for sale encompass all states of preservation. From windowless shells requiring total renovation, to those requiring light decoration, to immaculate 19th century bourgeois stately homes, the amount you will need to spend will depend on how much work you are willing to undertake. Being large properties, renovations can be very costly and time-consuming but need not be outside the budget of most serious buyers if planned correctly. Typically, to arrive at a habitable building you will need to spend around a total of around 500,000 Euros, whether you opt to renovate or buy an already renovated example. 

That’s really quite a bargain if you think about it. 

If your taste goes toward a little grander property, there is a lovely 33 bedroom chateau in the Aquitaine region of France that is currently operating as a 3 star hotel and restaurant business. It’s currently for sale for the relatively low price of 5.7M. It sits on a total of 49 acres, and the buildings have about 40,000 square feet of living space. A property like this, properly marketed could be the perfect venue for destination weddings. 

If you’re on a bit of a budget, then perhaps the 8 bedroom chateau located just 35 minutes from Toulouse in the South of France might be more your style. It has 9,000 square feet of living space and is located on 43 acres of land. 

If you want to keep things below $1M, then perhaps you would be interested in an 11 bedroom chateau in the Burgundy region of France, just near a town called Nevers just 2 hours from Paris and currently used as a home and full chateau rental business, this property is being sold fully furnished and would offer a great family home or an investment business currently generating 5,000 Euros per week as a full chateau rental, would also be an ideal luxury and themed bed and breakfast business. 

If that’s too rich for you, then perhaps you might consider an 11 bedroom, 7 bath manor house in the Pyrenees Atlantique region. This is close to the Basque region which means you are close to skiing, and not far from Spain. You have the coast and the mountains all within a very short drive. 

So I’m thinking about what I might like for my birthday. I can’t wait to see what my wife has bought me.