Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau, France

A43606CEL64 - ...

This delightful maison-de-maître will charm you with its beautiful wooded grounds and huge barns, along with being able to stroll to the village boulangerie-pâtisserie every morning for your fresh baguette, some chocolatines and a cake!

From the road, metal gates open into a huge courtyard with the two huge barns straight ahead and the maison-de-maître to the right. The wooded grounds extend south behind the house and barns - and there is a west-facing dining terrace adjoining the kitchen with is perfect for dining alfresco.

There is ample space in the courtyard for several cars - or you can use the barns' covered porch as a garage.

From the courtyard, the front door of the maison-de-maître opens into an entrance hall with a wooden staircase to the upper floors, a WC, a shower room and a door at the far end opening onto the grounds.

To the left of the hall is a large dining room, which overlooks the courtyard and has a fireplace with a wood-burning stove. Adjoining this room is a cosy sitting room, which overlooks the grounds. Also accessible from the dining room is the kitchen, which has a door out to the west-facing dining terrace. Adjoining the kitchen is a walk-in pantry, which also houses the main gas boiler.

Opposite the dining room and to the right of the entrance hall is a large reception room/sitting room with its own kitchen area and a further gas boiler. Behind this room, there is a bedroom with an adjacent shower room.

Should you need an office or a consulting room, you could use one of the three ground-floor reception rooms or the bedroom. Should you wish to accommodate grandparents or generate some rental income almost immediately, you could easily create a self-contained apartment encompassing the large reception/sitting room and kitchen area, the ground-floor bedroom and the adjacent shower room.

You might also decide to use the cosy sitting room as a bedrooms and to convert the adjacent WC to an en suite shower room.

The first floor of the maison-de-maître comprises four bedrooms and a family bathroom with an adjoining storage area under the eaves. Also under the eaves are two adjoining rooms, which could also be used for storage or converted into a nursery, a games room, a playroom...

The second floor, which has sloping ceilings, is currently unconverted loft space, but could easily be transformed into additional living space or a playroom, a games room, a home cinema, a gym...

The property's two 2-storey barns could also be used for creating additional living space, an office/consulting room, gîtes, B&B suites... or even a yoga studio and function room for hosting leisure activity workshops (authorisation required).

It should also be possible to get permission to instal a swimming pool in the grounds, along with a summer kitchen, a barbecue area, a children's play area, a boules piste...

The property is situated on the outskirts of a traditional Béarnais village with a boulangerie-pâtisserie, restaurants and a primary school, which are all a 10-minute walk away. For a wider choice of shops and amenities, there is a small town just 3km away. There are regular buses to and from Pau from the village. The nearest TGV station is 15 minutes away; the Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport and Pau airport are both 25 minutes away.

As well as being hugely convenient for people working in and around Pau, Tarbes and Lourdes, this super property is less than an hour away from the Pyrénées ski resorts of Val d'Azun and Cauterets. Atlantic beach resorts are about 90 minutes to the west - and the pretty town of Marciac, which is famous for its annual Jazz Festival, is just 55 minutes away to the north.

THE MAISON-DE-MAÎTRE

Ground floor:
- a courtyard
- a west-facing terrace
- an entrance hall with access to the grounds
- a large reception room/sitting room with an adjoining kitchen area and views of the courtyard
- a smaller sitting room room overlooking the grounds
- a spacious dining room with a wood-burning stove and views of the courtyard
- a kitchen with a walk-in pantry and access to the west-facing terrace
- a bedroom overlooking the grounds
- an adjacent shower room
- a WC/cloakroom

First floor:
- four bedrooms
- two adjoining rooms under the eaves, ideal for a nursery, games room, playroom, storage...
- a family bathroom with an adjoining storage area under the eaves

Second floor:
- unconverted loft space


THE GROUNDS AND OUTBUILDINGS

The maison-de-maître is set in delightful grounds of 6,767m² (1.67 acres) with...
- a courtyard (approx 500m²) with ample room for several cars
- a west-facing terrace for outdoor dining
- two huge barns (100m2 and 90m2 with a combined upper floor of 220m2) and a covered entranceway of 30m2 which could be used as a garage
- a garden shed


THE POTENTIAL!

This lovely maison-de-maître is the perfect size for a family home or a spacious holiday home. Although in need of some redecorating and modernisation, you could move in straight away, should you wish to.

The property is within easy commuting distance of Pau (25 minutes to the ring road), Lourdes (25 minutes) and Tarbes (30 minutes). If you work from home, one of the rooms on the ground floor or part of the barns could be ideal to use as an office or a consulting room (authorisation required).

It might also be possible to get authorisation to transform the barns into gîtes, B&B suites, a yoga studio, a function room for leisure activity workshops... or even independent accommodation for grandparents...

In addition, part of the ground floor of the maison-de-maître could be converted into a self-contained apartment, encompassing the ground-floor bedroom, the shower room and the large reception/sitting room with the adjoining kitchen area.

Should you wish to rent out the maison-de-maître as a gîte for large groups, the installation of a swimming pool would be an added attraction. The property is also a convenient distance from the Hautes-Pyrénées ski resorts, so you are likely to have demand from holidaymakers both during the summer months and the winter months.

NB: all changes of use and some building works will require permission


SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Double glazing
Electricity
Heating: gas central heating (2 boilers, mains gas) + wood-burning stove
Mains water
Septic tank


THE LOCAL AREA

The property is located in the beautiful Béarn region in south-west France, not far from Pau (25 minutes to the ring road), Tarbes (30 minutes) and Lourdes (25 minutes). Toulouse, Bordeaux and San-Sebastián in Spain are all about two hours away. There are regular buses to Pau from the village; the nearest TGV station is 15 minutes away.

The region is popular with tourists all year round for hiking, mountain-biking, white-water rafting and fishing. There are also several ski resorts (55 minutes), which offer a choice of winter sports, including downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snow-shoeing. For those who prefer beach-based activities, the Atlantic coast is about 90 minutes away, where you can picnic, swim and surf at Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

If your interests are gastronomic, you'll love exploring the many farmers' markets throughout the Béarn, where you can sample locally produced Jurançon and Madiran wines, tasty Bayonne ham cured in salt from Salies-de-Béarn and fabulous Brebis, (a cheese made from ewes' milk), which is normally eaten with delicious black cherry jam from Itxassou!

Airports: Tarbes-Lourdes, Pau, Biarritz
Train: Pau, Tarbes
Coach: Pau, Tarbes
Ferry: Bilbao, Santander

Ski: Val d'Azun Cauterets...
Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...

Attractions: Parc National des Pyrénées, Cirque de Gavarnie, Petit Train d'Artouste, Golf, Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes, Grottes de Bétharram...