Versailles: an exceptional quality of life
Versailles is a flagship town in the Yvelines (78) department in Ile-de-France. With more than 85,000 inhabitants, the city attracts many real estate buyers who see not only a pleasant and bourgeois city to establish their main residence there, but also an ideal place to invest in real estate. The presence of the Palace of Versailles, its fabulous gardens, its fountains and its park, of course contributes to its influence, butVersailles is far from summarizing a city which would have only its tourist district alive.
Have aVersailles accommodationis a bit like buying a piece of history, without cutting yourself off from modernity. On the contrary, the city of the Sun King has managed to retain its old charm while placing itself in the heart of the most dynamic region of France.
It must be said that the cityhas many advantages: Versailles is a cityresidential, family and bourgeois, where beautiful eighteenth century buildings line large avenues or small private streets. From the market square in the city center to the chic Clagny district via Satory and Saint-Louis, the quality of life offered is appreciated by its inhabitants. But the city also has astrategic location in Ile de France, which allows its residents to find calm and a certain sweetness of life without moving away from the places where economic activity is concentrated.
The city is geographically cut in half in the axis of the Castle by the Avenue de Paris. On the left wing of the Castle, theSaint-Louis district. Opposite on his right wing, theNotre-Dame district. Buildings, the majority of which date from the 18th century, are located around the three wide avenues which leave in canvas from Place d’Arme located in front of the Castle (Avenue de Paris, Avenue de Saint-Cloud, Avenue de Sceaux). Small private hotels are sometimes found in residential areas. In most cases, these buildings have few floors.
Although it rather urbanises with Buildings and Historical Monuments like the royal curies, Versailles counts 350 ha of forts. Many parks and green spaces are also distributed in the city.
Versailles has many nearby shops. In addition, two regional shopping centers a few kilometers complete a particularly large commercial offer (Parly 2 and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines). Finally, it should be noted that the people of Versailles benefit from the presence of a hospital center (CH Andr Mignot) and several private hospitals.
A dense transport network and easy travel
The city has 5 stations well distributed on its territory. From the stationVersailles-Chantiers, the Transilien train takes less than 12 minutes to Paris-Montparnasse station and 20 minutes to Dfense, as well as to the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines job pool in less than 8 minutes, and to other cities such as Plaisir, Dreux, Rambouillet or Chartres. It is also possible to take dailyTGV to Lyon, Marseille or Rouen. Line 18 of the Grand-Paris Express should serve Versailles-Chantiers in the coming years, which will link Orly airport, the plain of Saclay and Nanterre without connections.
The stationVersailles-Rive Gaucheallows you to reach Paris-Invalides by RER C in 20 minutes. The stationVersailles-Rive-DroiteAs for it quickly Paris-Saint-Lazare. The city also has two additional stations, Montreuil and Porchefontaine, on the routes from Montparnasse and Saint-Lazare.
A network of high-performance buses criss-crosses the city (Phbus) and links Versailles and neighboring cities, as well as those of the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines urban community.
On the main roads, Versailles has access to the national road 10 (RN10), the A13 motorway (Paris Porte de Saint-Cloud Normandie), the A12 (Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines), the A86 (Rueil- Malmaison, la Dfense) and the RN12 (Saint-Cyr-l’Ecole to Brittany).
Finally, note that65 km of cycle pathsare developed in the commune. You can find them on the Boulevard du Roi, Avenue de Paris and Saint-Cloud (leading to the Castle). We can also point out the development of the green belt, a 20 km track around the city passing through its forest estate.
Also read: New real estate: know before you buy
Versailles: economic dynamism and excellence in teaching
In Versailles, theunemployment rate is 7%, a figure far below the national average. The city is in fact at the heart of one of the largest employment areas in France, not far from the Dfense (180,000 employees) and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (140,000 employees). Jobs in the city itself are 90% related to the commercial and tourist sector. It must be said that tourism, mainly linked to the Palace of Versailles, brings about7.7 million visitors each year.
Besides thequality of secondary education(Versailles class 2 high schools in the national top 20), the city is also a crossroads of higher education. We therefore count on its soilmany schoolsspecialties includingNational School of Landscape, aschool of architectureand theUniversity of Versailles-Saint-Quentin. The city is also located close to centers of excellence, with theHEC campusat the gates of the city Jouy-en-Josas as well asPolytechnic universityandSupleconly 15 km.
In which neighborhood should Versailles invest?
For areal estate investment Versailles, we can bet on thedirect surroundings of the Castle. We will be able to invest in the neighborhoodNotre-Dame to the north, orSaint-Louis to the south. These two neighborhoods are quite residential and made up of old buildings and sometimes very successful new building complexes. They also have the advantage of being in the heart of the city, whichwill attract tenantsThanks to a mixture of animation and calm as well as the proximity to the park of the Castle in which it is so pleasant to walk.
Theconstruction siteis also an interesting location, insofar as it is located between the Versailles-Chantiers and Versailles-Rive-Gauche stations. These two stations will allow tenants toget to Paris in 15 or 20 minutesonce on the train.
Finally, let’s not forget that Versailles is a tourist city. We can therefore consider the rental of furniture with however a flat concerning the duration of the stays of holidaymakers.
In which district should you buy your main Versailles residence or make a rental investment?
AT13 km from the periphery and from Paris Porte de Saint-Cloud, the city is very busy with Parisian households looking forlarger accommodation or more rooms, softer prices. They find Versailles apartments in18th century buildings, but also in more recent buildings or even in very rarenew real estate programs. The city of Versailles does indeed make it possible to invest in Pinel law, but the opportunities are not limited.
We can also findhouses, some of which are made of millstone and generally date from the 19th century. There are other opportunities to access the property on more modern homes.
Here are some interesting neighborhoods for the acquisition of a main residence, where apartment sales are watching. Please note, Versailles sales are relatively quick, it is important to mobilize quickly to become a buyer.
TheSaint-Louis districtis emblematic since it is considered the old center. Located on the left wing of the Castle, it combines refinement, amenities and entertainment thanks to the shopping streets. It is the site of the old village containing the whole history of Versailles. Calm and rather secretive, Saint-Louis has kept its identity with architectural sonorator dating from Louis XIV. With an exceptional living environment but quite warm, Saint-Louis did not fail its reputation.
On the right wing of the Castle, we find theNotre Dame district, first to have been built in the New Town project of Louis XIV. This part of the city is one of the busiest thanks to its streets, the most commercial of Versailles. It is also a picturesque area with its antique shops. There are notably Place du March and Rue de la Paroisse, which constitute the heart of town.
Theconstruction site, takes its name from the main activities of the former occupants: those of stone cutting. It is also a good investment if you want to imbibe the atmosphere of Versailles. This part of the city benefits from the presence of the Versailles-Chantiers station and its excellent connection to Paris, La Dfense, the nearby suburbs and the province (TGV).
TheVersailles-Montreuil and Clagny Glatigny neighborhoodsare themost comfortable neighborhoodsof Versailles. It is in particular there that one finds beautiful small private hotels and beautiful villas.
Note: Versailles is surrounded by the cities of Saint-Cyr-l’Ecole, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Le Chesnay, Buc, Guyancourt, Jouy-en-Josas, Vlizy, Viroflay, Chaville, Vaucresson and Rocquencourt.
Versailles is classified in zone A bis for the Pinel law.
A little history… :
The Hall of Mirrors, famous great hall of the Palace of Versailles, is marked by history. Place of passage and festivities under the Old Regime, it became a political symbol in the XIXth and XXth centuries. Following the French defeat of 1870 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, it is the place chosen for the proclamation of the German Empire. A symbolic revenge of Germany to the wars successfully waged by Louis XIV and illustrated on the decor of the room.
In 1919, it was up to the French to take their revenge. The Treaty of Versailles ending the First World War is also signed in the Hall of Mirrors, by defeated Germany.
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