Spend your weekends in a character house with a garden, in the heart of Normandy.
Since the confinements linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, many have realized this sweet dream.
In the region, one in 10 homes is a second home, according to INSEE data dating from 2020. This is twice as many as in Île-de-France.
To help you make your choice, Le Parisien has drawn up an unprecedented ranking of Normandy municipalities located a maximum of three hours by train (and with a maximum change) from Paris and Saint-Lazare station.
Real estate prices, green spaces, safety, quality of the environment but also (and above all) punctuality of the SNCF line, these essential criteria were compiled to determine the 200 best cities.
If the surge in interest rates slows down many projects, several dozen municipalities offer solid assets
and houses sold for around 200,000 euros.
La Manche has several advantages
La Manche is one of the winners in our ranking with Montebourg, Sainte-Mère-Église, Picauville and Carentan-les-Marais in the top 10. From Saint-Lazare, however, it takes at least three hours by train to reach the Cotentin.
“The added value of Carentan is really the station,” confirms Audrey Dacher, co-founder of the real estate agency AP Immo des Marais.
The small town of 10,000 inhabitants (6th) enjoys a cute little port, numerous shops and a central location - accessible in 30 to 40 minutes from Cherbourg and Caen via the N 13 dual carriageway.
“Covid has had a boost effect on requests for houses, even for teleworking for Parisians.
We also have requests from people from the South looking for freshness,” notes the real estate agent.
The icing on the cake is that the famous Landing beaches are only twenty minutes away by car.
The department offers some of the most affordable prices in the region (around 1,900 euros per m2 according to the specialist site Meilleurs Agents) with large differences depending on the dilapidation of the property.
“It’s difficult to give an average price, each property is different and our stock is old,” observes a real estate professional who has been living in the Montebourg (1st) sector for twenty years.
For example, a three-bedroom house on a plot of 2,000 m2 with work has just sold for 165,000 euros.
Also read: Where to buy a cheap country house?
Our exclusive ranking
Problem, goods are rare, even for residents, and word of mouth is important.
“We sometimes find a buyer without putting them online on our site, as is the case in Sainte-Mère-Église,” says Audrey Dacher.
Ranked 2nd, the town, famous for the paratrooper mannequin from the Second World War hanging from its church, is charming and very popular with collectors.
But the sector, like many countrysides, suffers from a shortage of doctors and is not connected to fiber everywhere.
Calvados well placed despite higher prices
Another winner in our ranking, Calvados.
The department offers great assets (Port-en-Bessin 4th) but watch out for prices which are rising in Villers-sur-Mer, 3rd.
The m2 (5,000 euros on average in January 2024 according to Meilleursagents.com) is three times more expensive there than in Isigny-sur-Mer (7th).
The famous seaside resorts of Deauville, Trouville and Honfleur, postcards of the region, appear in the top 20 thanks to the coast, their dynamic businesses and extensive medical services.
This is not a surprise since in the first two, more than 6 out of 10 homes are already secondary homes.
On the other hand, Parisians will be less disoriented by the prices per m2 (8,000 euros on average in Deauville).
Read alsoReal estate: rush for castles and manors in Normandy
Fifth in the ranking, Beuzeville and its pretty bell tower, on the border with Eure and twenty minutes from the sea, is more affordable than its famous neighbors.
For example, a small renovated half-timbered farmhouse is for sale for just over 200,000 euros (pay attention to the energy performance diagnosis).
Delays on the Rouen-Le Havre line
If the Côte Fleurie seems too far from Paris, the Eure is a good option.
Ten kilometers separate Ezy-sur-Eure (11th) from Bueil station.
From there, you are only an hour from the quays of Saint-Lazare.
The sector is dynamic with several dozen houses for sale on Leboncoin at the beginning of January.
Its neighbor and 12th in our ranking, Anet (in Eure-et-Loir, but on the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg line), is appreciated for its castle and its historic center.
Want a breath of sea air?
The coast is less than two hours away.
A sector that is nevertheless little sought after for a second home, according to several professionals in the sector that we interviewed.
“Prices remain high for secondary education (count at least 200,000 euros for a house in the countryside).
We have more requests from first-time buyers for primary residences,” observes a real estate agent based in Ezy-sur-Eure.
For a beautiful house in the city center, you will need to count between 250,000 and 300,000 euros.
If you have the means, this remains a good option to stay close to Paris (allow 1h15), ideal for teleworking.
Also readReal estate: which cities to invest in with 100,000 euros in France?
Our exclusive ranking
Seine-Maritime suffers from regular delays along the SNCF line between Paris, Rouen and Le Havre, denounced by users for years.
In the Rouen metropolitan area, the best ranked are Maromme (45th), Canteleu (58th) and Darnétal (64th).
To Le Havre, train delays complicate things even more (Gainneville 56th, Gonfreville-l'Orcher is 68th).
On the other hand, the Seine valley (Elbeuf 15th and Les Andelys 16th) is a guarantee of preserved nature, a rich heritage and a m2 around 2,000 euros.
The (too) touristy beaches of Étretat are absent from our ranking because the Bréauté train station is more than 10 km away.
How we did it
To carry out this ranking, we took into account three main families of criteria which seemed important to us when choosing a location: the quality of life on site, the price of real estate but also the quality of the rail connection. between Paris Saint-Lazare and a train station less than 10 km from these towns with more than 1,500 inhabitants.
We excluded the Granville sector because it is further away and served by trains departing from Montparnasse station.
Proximity to the coast and density of small businesses in the town are preponderant in terms of quality of life.
We also considered safety on site, the regularity of heatwaves or extreme cold.
The quality of the rail connection is made up of several elements: the price of a ticket taken the same day from Paris Saint-Lazare, the duration of the journey, but also the share of punctual trains and the average delays observed on the first part of the month of December 2023.