Why Buy in Normandy?
We're not really sure. Why not?
We like the weather there. We're not really hot weather people. The more we visited the southern U.S. the more we realized we only liked the weather there in the winter. Normandy winters are mild, seldom getting below freezing and the summers are also pretty nice. Spring starts considerably earlier there than in Duluth and lasts longer. And then there was the countryside. We love driving around Normandy, visiting the villages and small towns, eating in small restaurants, and visiting the many other points of interest. Plus it's France! What more do I need to say?
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Here are some images from the towns and villages of Normandy. These come from both our trips to Normandy, as on our most recent trip I concentrated on taking photos of the houses we looked at and didn't get as many of the towns. (I've included some random links to further information about these towns.)
A square near the 20th c. church
A courtyard
Same courtyard
Bridge from the castle ruins back toward the old town
Looking out over the countryside from the castle ruins
Looking down toward an 11th c. church
This is what remains of the 13th century old castle in the town center. The Tour de France recently rode right past this spot.
The river in the evening
Same bridge as in the photo above.
The old 'lavoir' or washing place. A lot of the towns and villages have one of these.
Flowers spilling over a wall with the town in the background
A lake in Tinchebray
This is the town where we stayed in 2011. We walked from the farm where we were staying into the town.
The church
This château was right near the church. It appeared to be abandoned.
The gate was wide open, so I walked to the back of the château. I wonder what the asking price would be for a place like this.
A main street with shops in Mortain
The same street looking back the other way
Mortain is on the side of a hill and has some steep streets and some that turn into steps.
A small lane in Champsecret
We looked at a property in this lane.
The lane leads out of town and into the Parc Naturel Régional Normandie-Maine
Typical houses in a village like this
The houses are often so close to the road that there is barely any sidewalk at all.
One of our criteria for a house was that it had to be within walking distance of a bakery. We want to be able to walk to the bakery for fresh bread in the morning. This is a typical small town bakery.
If these pictures don't appeal to you, then you don't want to buy a house in Normandy. If you want to see more, go to Google maps; pick a town; select Street View and wander around. Google has been all over Normandy. Probably other parts of France too.