Where to buy in Ramatuelle: the districts

The hilltop village has kept its spiral plan, rebuilt around 1620 after the Wars of Religion, and its Porte Sarrasine. Here you buy a stone village house, with a view over the bay when it is well placed. This is the sector where life is lived on foot and all year round: it suits a pied-à-terre as well as a buyer who wants a village that stays lived in out of season. The traps: scarce parking and closely regulated works. The overall budget is generally lower than elsewhere in the commune, since floor areas are smaller and land is rare.

Pampelonne and the vineyard plain form the most sought-after market in summer: villas among vines and pinewood, a few minutes from a beach more than four kilometres long, whose layout was set by a decree of 15 December 2015, a first in France: removable beach establishments, a restored dune. It is the sector of families who come for the sea. The traps: the beach road, saturated in season, and an August tranquillity that varies from one address to the next. The budget follows summer demand: it is high.

Camarat and Bonne Terrasse bring together the cape and its lighthouse, whose light shines about 130 metres above the sea, the second highest in France, and the Bonne Terrasse cove. Villas here look over Pampelonne bay or the open sea; addresses are rare and discreet, for the buyer who seeks the view and seclusion more than the beach on foot. To check: access, easements and what the land allows. The budget sits at the top of the commune, case by case.

L’Escalet and Cap Taillat are the southern coast, wilder: coves, the coastal path, protected sites, as far as Cap Taillat, a protected coastal property with its sandy isthmus, on the boundary with La Croix-Valmer. Villas here sit in the pines, facing the open sea, for the buyer who prefers deep calm to the bustle of Pampelonne. The traps: brush clearance, generally over 50 metres around buildings in areas exposed to forest fire, and the Loi Littoral, which bars building within the 100-metre coastal strip outside built-up areas. The budget depends on the view and the closeness to the sea.

The hills towards Gassin rise to the ridges and the Paillas windmills, one of which was restored in 2002, with views over the bay and the vineyard plain. Wine estates, bastides, large plots and views over the gulf: more space and privacy, for large families and properties that are handed down. To check: access, sanitation that is often non-collective and inspected by the SPANC, and the estate rules when the property lies within a private domain. The budget is judged first on the land and the view.

In Ramatuelle, the district is chosen on the real use of the property, and first on summer: July and August with the family, or short stays all year round? Home Select starts from that question, asked by video call or telephone, before looking for an address.

Home Select monitors 1,700 listing sites and receives more than 100 off-market properties every day, across all sectors; each shortlisted property is vetted on documents, then discovered on a video pre-viewing, run with the seller’s agent, before your single trip for the decisive viewings.