See what €50,000, €500,000 and over €1m buys in Yvelines
Versailles is 16km from Paris and has very good but busy roads linking it to the capital
Versailles is shorthand for the famous royal palace and parks fashioned into the principal royal residence by Louis XIV (1638-1715) and used by the monarchy until Louis XVI (1754-1793)Phillip Kraskoff/Shutterstock
Other main towns: Mantes-la-Jolie, Rambouillet, Saint-Germain-en-Laye
The department of Yvelines covers much of the west of Paris. While Versailles is the name of its prosperous prefecture, it is also a shorthand for the famous royal palace and parks fashioned into the principal royal residence by Louis XIV (1638-1715) and used by the monarchy until Louis XVI (1754-1793).
Versailles is 16km from Paris, and has very good but busy roads linking it to the capital.
No fewer than three major roads cross the department after radiating from Paris: the A10, and the near-autoroute standard N12 and N13.
Commuters who prefer rail travel are also well served, with stations on RER lines A and C, and SNCF’s Transilien network filling the gaps with four lines of its own (J, L, N and U).
International flights are served by the main Paris airports, but the department also has five smaller aerodromes.
Among them, Toussus-le-Noble is one of the busiest for general and business aviation in the Paris region and is widely used by private jets carrying passengers to and from the capital.
The department is divided into areas close to Paris, including Versailles; the highly urbanised suburbs along the north-west bank of the Seine as far as Mantes-la-Jolie; and the remainder of the territory, which is notably rural.
At its centre lies the ancient Forest of Rambouillet, covering around 220 km², with nearly three-quarters owned by the state. It is a popular place for Parisians looking to escape the city.
Many of Yvelines’ residential areas are regarded as relatively peaceful, in contrast to the more disadvantaged suburbs found in parts of northern and southern Paris.
Versailles may no longer house the royal family, but it is widely regarded as one of the more affluent communes in the Paris region, with high property prices and above-average household incomes.
Unsurprisingly, searches for properties under €50,000 yield few results, although a handful of options may appeal to more adventurous buyers willing to take on what appear to be abandoned cabins. The following were available at the time of writing.
€50,000 or under
Two wooden sheds give extra storage space, in addition to a lean-to carportLa Résidence
A 40m² mobile home on 441m² of land in the commune of Bonnières-sur-Seine on the north-west edge of the department is one of the cheaper properties on offer with an asking price of €47,500.
It has a covered terrace, as well as water and electricity connections, with drains going into a communal septic tank.
Two wooden sheds give extra storage space, in addition to a lean-to carport.
Railway stations are a 15-minute walk away and there is a bus stop six minutes away. Primary and secondary schools are close, and the shops are 10 minutes away.
Typical suburban home in the commune of Chaveney was built in 2015Zefir
It is not quite Versailles, but it is close. This typical suburban home in the commune of Chaveney was built in 2015 and offers 75m² of light and airy space, arranged with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It has an asking price of €395,000.
The garden is small (115m²) but there is space for two cars to be parked, and the house has a DPE energy rating of B.
The commune’s primary school is 500 metres away, as are the shops.
Just north of Versailles, this five-bedroom has 181m²Agence Mosaic
Situated in one of the affluent suburbs of La Celle-Saint-Cloud, just north of Versailles, this five-bedroom, 181m² house is on the market for €2,350,000.
It is six minutes’ walk from a station with trains into Paris, and has a 2,600m² garden with a heated swimming pool.
The property includes a smaller house of 64m², and has garage space for up to three cars.
