Polite charm within reach
Financial Times 9.2.08 by Ruth O'Sullivan
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In the hazy afternoon sunshine, locals stroll round the ancient ramparts of Montreuil-sur-Mer, a hilltop town in the Pas-de-Calais area of northern France, murmuring polite bonjours as they pass one another. Youngsters are picnicking near the edge of the embankment while a solitary jogger pounds past followed closely by his dog.
The ramparts that stretch 3km around the town were built in the 9th century and have played an important part of everyday life ever since. Starting out in a defensive role, the embankment has evolved into an outdoor exercise track and place to view the fields and river Canche below.
Built in the 9th century to surround a royal castle under the orders of King Philippe Auguste, the grandeur of the town's fortifications have earned it the nickname "Carcassonne of the north", after the magnificent walled settlement in southern France.
Montreuil-sur-Mer also caught the imagination of 19th-century writer Victor Hugo, who set his novel Les Misérables in the town and the story is faithfully performed on the ramparts by the locals each summer in a spectacular son et lumière.
Today it is attracting the attention of its neighbours across the Channel in Britain who, after visiting for long weekends, have been seduced by the French way of life and by the property prices and want to live in the village permanently.
Recently, the Dutch, Belgians, Germans and even a few Parisians have discovered the appeal of the place with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants and picturesque surroundings including La Vallée de la Course and the seaside resort of Le Touquet.
Ann Gardner, an estate agent at Lefebvre Immobilier, says that in spite of the growing foreign interest in the region, prices are "beginning to stabilise compared to when the English first began to buy here". A three-bedroom house in need of refurbishment in the centre of town costs about €210,000 (£157,000), while grander houses or maisons de maître can fetch €400,000 and more.
"Within the town, demand can outstrip supply as there is no room to expand," says Francis Crignon at estate agent Stop Immo. People want to find a house within reach of the comforts of an established town but with the charms of the countryside and coast nearby, he says.
An 1830s presbytery de charme in its own grounds in Montreuil with eight rooms, including three bedrooms, is on sale for €683,700, while a more modest two-bedroom cottage, in good condition, is going for €138,000.
Tourists are attracted to the location - Montreuil has easy access to the nearby northern ports of Boulogne and Calais, as well as to Paris by train and to neighbouring Belgium and the Netherlands. It is also located near the magnificent rural Seven Valleys - the Vallée de la Course.
But it is not the coastal view that attracts property investors. In spite of its name - ‘Sur-Mer' - Montreuil is nine miles inland and the only sea view is a very distant one from the hilltop with a pair of binoculars. This is because in the Middle Ages it was a prosperous port at the mouth of the River Canche but over the centuries marshland took over and now the silted-up river winds sluggishly to the sea. Locals still make use of the river though, hiring out kayaks and teaching canoeing in the strong currents, and this is proving popular with youngsters in the area and also with visitors.
Interest in the whole region has been growing and as supply and demand has tightened within the boundaries drawn up by the ramparts, investors have moved further afield. The Ville Basse, the area lower down the hill, has not undergone as much gentrification as that within the walls but is catching the eye of more adventurous buyers.
Prices here are cheaper and houses come on to the market more often. Dotted among the terraces are a few grander houses, built by regional landowners in the 18th century. The double-fronted spread and generous window and ceiling heights of the bigger houses contrast sharply with the cosy cottages and small windows that tend to make up most of the streets in the area.
According to Dany Monnier at estate agency Agence Monroy, property in the Ville Basse sells for about 20 to 25 per cent less than properties located in the centre of town.
Some of the bigger houses in good condition, with three bedrooms, sell for €230,000, while smaller two-bedroom houses come on the market for about €120,000. A derelict four-bedroom house in the Ville Basse is currently selling for €150,000.
So how are the foreign owners, including those who are using their properties as second homes, seen by the locals? "The mix is good but it is important for new buyers to become integrated in the community," says Gardner, who is in her fifth year at Montreuil. Local restaurateurs say it would not be such a wealthy town without foreign investment. And local builders and trades people benefit from the growth in demand for renovations.
"Each of the houses in the Ville Basse has its own story and charm and the river Canche has played an important part in this area," says one English resident, who has just bought a a bigger house in the ville basse.
She first fell in love with Montreuil at age nine, revisited it when she was 23 and at 53 bought a house there.
Although she describes the Ville Basse "as the other side of the tracks" from the main town, she is enthusiastic about living there and likes the mix of architecture and people.
Although the houses are mostly small they tend to have character, make good family homes and open out on to small gardens or back yards. Older residents spend much of their time sitting outside on the pavement basking in the sunshine and chatting to passing locals.
The Ville Basse has a café, frequented by long-standing locals, an estate agent, a hairdresser, a boulangerie and, of course, a poodle parlour. But the draw of the well proportioned main square in the town centre, with its choice of cafés and outdoor tables, still proves more popular. Every Saturday morning, it is taken over by a bustling food and clothing market.
The modest-sized town boasts 10 estate agents, 12 hairdressers, four poodle parlours and three chocolate shops. There are also numerous good restaurants. Transport links are good and Montreuil has easy access to the nearby northern ports of Boulogne and Calais, to Paris by train or road and also to neighbouring Belgium, It is also located in one of the magnificent rural seven valleys - the Vallee de la Course - often overlooked by motorists driving off the ferries from the UK and racing past on the motorway.
A part of Montreuil's attraction, for those who get to know it, is its strong community spirit driven by numerous events throughout the year, ranging from indoor and outdoor theatrical performances to nocturnal visits to a nearby chocolate factory.
In summer, artists can be seen at their easels, selling their paintings and turning the streets into a mini Montmartre art fair. The town and citadel are the inspiration for much of the work.
Organised visits to places of cultural interest in the area, usually presented by an architect or local historian, are well attended and drinks or dinner in the local community hall afterwards provide a chance for newcomers to meet the locals.
For those looking to furnish newly acquired properties inexpensively the numerous brocantes in and around the town can be a good source for furniture, antiques and bric-a-brac at reasonable prices.
But anyone looking for year-round sunshine will be disappointed in the Nord Pas de Calais region, which gets more than its fair share of rain as well as a number of clear summer days.
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