Buying in France:A development of apartments in Grimaud, a medieval hilltop village overlooking the bay of St Tropez, are for sale off plans from over €200,000 to €554,000.
The 23 studio to three-bedroom apartments will be built in the 11th century village, which has a feudal castle, traditional buildings with bougainvillea-flowered façades, shaded lanes and squares and a population of 3,300.
It's not to be confused with Port Grimaud, a fashionable seaside village down the hill from Grimaud developed in the 1960s.
Seventeen apartments are left for sale in the new development, Les Terraces de Grimaud. They are being built strictly in the style of typical Provençal houses, with brightly painted exteriors, according to UK-based developer Chesterton. All will have balconies looking out on the valley below.
Units range from 28sq m (301sq ft) studios for £148,000 (€212,000) to one-beds from 38sq m (409sq ft) for the same price. Two-bedroom units of 103sq m (1,109sq ft) cost £236,000 (€337,000) and 103sq m (1,109sq ft) three-beds cost £388,000 (€554,000).
A municipal car-park is to be built below the development, with a level reserved for apartment owners; spaces will cost €33 a month.
Building of the development began this month and the first apartments are due to be ready by the start of 2009.
