Rhone-Alps

French Property Shop - Property in Rhone-Alps

Home Buyers Guide to Property for Sale in Rhone-Alps

 Alps property – a regional guide containing useful information when buying houses in the Alps – France.

French Property Shop - Property in Rhone-Alps

Here at French Property Shop we offer listings for property in Rhone-Alps for both private and agency sellers. If you are looking for property for sale in Rhone-Alps, look no further, check out our listings for Property in Rhone-Alps.

Access to Rhone-Alps

Grenoble - from Stansted, East-Midlands, Liverpool, Glasgow and Dublin with Ryanair

- from Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol and Bournemouth with easyjet

Chambéry - from Norwich, Birmingham, Southampton and Exeter with Flybe

Geneva - from Norwich, IOM, Newquay, Exeter, Southampton and Jersey with Flybe

- from Manchester, East-Midlands, Birmingham and Cardiff with BMIbaby

- from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham,   East-Midlands, Luton, Stansted, Bristol, Bournemouth and Gatwick with easyjet

- from London with British Airways

Lyon: from Stansted and Gatwick with easyjet, from London with British Airways

TGV to Lyon, Albertville, Geneve, Valence

Good access via motorways (8-9hrs from Calais) with Eurotunnel

Located in the South-Eastern corner of France, sharing its borders with, to the North, Burgundy; to the East, Switzerland and Italy; to the South, Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon; and to the West, the Massif Central.  The Rhône Alps region consists of 8 departments, with the river Rhône flowing through all of them: the Rhône (69), the Loire (42), the Ain (01), the Savoie (73), the Haute-Savoie (74), the Isère (38), the Drôme (26) and the Ardèche (07). With its population of 5.65 million and surface area of 44,000km², the Rhône Alps is France 's second largest region.

The region is characterised by the two main features of water and mountains, with its name a combination of the river Rhône and the mountain range of the Alps. The Rhône Alps brings together areas of flat landscape with areas of mountains. The natural backdrop of much of the region is made up of medium and high mountains. Boasting the world's largest ski area as well as some of the most famous resorts (Chamonix, Megève...). With its plethora of alpine glaciers, numerous lakes and wetlands and major rivers (6 of the 8 departments bear the name of a river), the Rhône Alps' water supplies are particularly significant and include 7,000km of waterways.

The geographic location of the Rhône Alps has favoured the introduction of many different architectural styles. Such a wide variety of influences, together with the ruins of ancient civilisations as well as modern creativity, have contributed to the rich artistic heritage of the region's towns and villages.

The Rhône Alps' culinary reputation spreads much wider than just Lyon, renowned  as gastronomic capital since the 16th Century largely because of its tasty charcuteries, there are Savoie cheeses to taste, as well as Bresse's chickens, Montélimar's nougat... Respect is paid to gastronomy throughout the Rhône Alps region, as much in the restaurants of prestigious chefs such as Paul Bocuse and the Troigros brothers as in country inns or Lyon's bouchons. Completing this outstanding gastronomic heritage are the region's wines, including Côtes du Rhône and Beaujolais as well as those from Savoie and Bugey.

Attractions

These massive natural spaces offer open playgrounds for a whole range of outdoor activities:  winter sports, hiking and climbing, cycling and mountain biking, rafting, windsurfing, paragliding, golf...

Nature has been generous to the Rhône Alps, blessing it with amazing sites such as the Ardèche gorges or the multiple ponds in the Dombes, as well as unforgettable scenery such as the needles and glaciers of the Mont Blanc, the fields of lavender in the provençale Drôme and the lush countryside of the Bresse.

From Lyon's prestigious Musée des Beaux-Arts via the top modern art museums (St Etienne's Musée d'Art Moderne) and archeological museums (Musée de Saint Romain en Gal) through to the many small museums dedicated to local traditions, the region presents a veritable treasure trove for culture buffs. The Dance Biennial in Lyon, Jazz in Vienne and the International Festival of Animated Films in Annecy are just some of the 200 plus festivals taking place in the region, which is also home to France's first national opera company... making the Rhône Alps one of the best regions in France for the dramatic arts, attracting more than 13 million spectators annually.

Climate

According to Météo France our region boasts 24 different climates. On average the Rhône Alps has twice as much rainfall as any other French region and with its 7000 km of water sources, it is no wonder that water is such a dominant feature. However, this oceanic influence is subdued by the barrier of the Massif Central to the west, the Mediterranean currents in the south and the Alps to the east (600-2000 mm rainfall per year).

Within the region's borders such contrasting climates are impressive: in just a few kilometres it is possible to go from a damp climate to a very dry one. Similarly the mountain weather is diametrically opposed to that in Montélimar (Mediterranean). The corridor formed by the Saône and Rhône valleys, effectively the Rhône Alps' backbone, is relatively dry.

The French property shop lists thousands of properties for sale around France with many in the Alps region.

 More Information brought to you by FPS to help in your French Property Sale and Purchase in Rhone-Alps.