See what €50,000, €250,000 and over €1m buys in Vaucluse

Vaucluse is one of France’s smaller departments, but features prominently in tourist brochures celebrating the attractions of the Mediterranean lifestyle.

Its fertile plains with market gardens, fields of lavender, vines for fine wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and rows of cherry orchards with their fragile spring blossom contrast with the looming mass of Mont Ventoux in the north-east of the department and the rolling hills of the Luberon to the south.

Mont Ventoux attracts cyclists from all over the world eager to try the legendary Tour de France climb for themselves. The challenge is made more difficult by the brutal, exposed weather at the top. One of the strongest gusts of wind ever recorded in mainland France was measured on Mont Ventoux in 1967, when a southerly wind reached 320km/h. The mountain is also regularly exposed to the mistral.

To the south, the hills of the Luberon run across the department, while the plain between Mont Ventoux and the Luberon extends westwards towards the fertile areas closer to the Rhône.

Alongside the river runs the famous A7, the autoroute du Soleil, passing close to Orange and Avignon, two of the department’s largest towns.

Avignon is famous as the city where seven successive popes established their court between 1309 and 1377. It subsequently became the seat of rival antipopes during the Western Schism.

Today, the Palais des Papes remains at the heart of the Festival d’Avignon, one of France’s leading performing arts festivals, held each July.

Avignon occupies an important position on the Rhône transport corridor. As well as the A7 providing links north towards Lyon and Paris and south towards Marseille, the A9 runs west from Orange towards Nîmes, Montpellier and Spain.

The same broad transport corridor carries the high-speed railway between Paris and Marseille, with Avignon served by a purpose-built TGV station.

The department’s population has continued to grow, reaching 572,056 in 2023. Between 2017 and 2023, most of that growth came from net migration, with a smaller contribution from natural population growth.

That demand is reflected in the property market, where searches for houses priced below €50,000 produce relatively few results. Those that do appear generally require substantial renovation. The following were available at the time of writing.

€50,000 or under

This narrow, stone-built house in the centre of Apt requires complete renovation and is being offered through an interactive sale, with bidding starting at €25,000.

Spread over five levels, the property has 112m² of living space and three bedrooms.

Substantial work will be required throughout, although some older features could potentially be retained as part of the renovation.

A previous dangerous-building order affecting the property has been lifted.

Agent: Immo-Interactif

€200,000 or under

Dating from 1900 and backing onto rock at the foot of Mont Ventoux, this small troglodyte house offers 52m² of living space over three levels, with exposed stone adding to its unusual character.

Outside is an enclosed 250m² garden planted with olive trees, along with a terrace, a basin fed by a natural spring and two car parking spaces.

On the market for €198,000 in the commune of Malaucène, less than 50 minutes from Avignon TGV station, the house is close to the town centre and is described as being in maintained condition.

Agent: ISI Immobilier

Over €1million 

Once property prices rise above the €1million mark in Vaucluse, the market offers a wide selection of traditional stone houses, many in sought-after locations.

This property in the commune of Gordes offers around 245m² of space, on a 4,000m² south-facing plot. It is on the market for €1,023,350.

The property was previously run as chambres d’hôtes.

The house has six bedrooms and five bathrooms or shower rooms, with electric heating and reversible air conditioning.

Agent: Immobilière du Château