Would you like to own your own B & B on the French Riviera? We have some suggestions.

Fine & Country Cannes is not yet a year old, but is simply exploding with energy and opportunity and our listing of highly desirable Cote d’Azur properties for sale is growing daily.

Today I want to highlight a few truly delightful properties which have caught my attention because they are (or have thepotential to be) very successful B & B’s or gîtes.

They do not have to be B & B’s or gîtes of course; each is primarily a private villa. The level of dedication of the owners to income generation by making their investment property or their new home in France work for them is up to them to decide.

I simply present the idea to you because it is an interesting option for each of the villas below.

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Many people have dreams of owning a property in the south of France or a villa on the French Riviera, and thousands across the country, the most visited country in the world, are living their dream today.

Running a B & B or a gîte ticks many boxes, and may help to make the numbers work for would-be investors who are also looking to create a good life for themselves in France. For them, what could be better than realising their dream while earning some useful income from it?

To clearly make the distinction between a B & B and a gîte:

The B & B is known in France as a “chambre d’hôtes” and most commonly caters to short-stay and passing trade, and has no more than 5 rooms to let. As one owner said “The work is hard, but the rewards are great as we have met some interesting and lovely people who pass through our town for all sorts of reasons. It is a lifestyle choice really. The prime letting season is June to September. Outside this period, you can market your property for longer lets by promoting log fires, good local wines, walks etc. You can normally expect sixteen weeks letting once you are established, more after several years with repeat clients or extensive advertising … but do understand that, in general, the more you put into the project, the more you will get out.”

The gîte by contrastis essentially self-catering and people are more likely to stay for a week and possibly longer. If you have an independent building or an independent entrance on your property, or the possibility to construct one, you may consider running a gîte. Although you must be available to welcome and help your guests, they occupy a separate space, cater for themselves, and in general cleaning is on a weekly, as opposed to a daily, basis.

Two important considerations before going into such a venture are obvious but bear repeating:

1. Make sure there are an international airport and/or a main railway station within easy reach.

2. The most important three words, as so often in any property venture are location, location, location!

Have a look at these beautiful villas as a starter; whet your appetite and dream a little because as Napoleon Hill wrote in his great motivational classic “Think and Grow Rich” way back in 1937, “dreams are the seedlings of reality.”

Each of the villas is or has been a B & B or a gîte in its time, or would be well suited to the task.

With kind regards,

Guy.

B & B’s or Gites & Potential B & B’s or Gites.

Provencal Bastide in Maganosc.

Price: 1 115 000€

It stands on the edge of Maganosc, a few miles from Grasse on the route to the mediaeval hilltop fortress town of Gourdon, Roquefort, La Colle sur Loup, Vence and St-Paul-de-Vence. Built in the XVIII century, this charming Provencal villa was the village boulangerie until the Second World War.

• It is a fully functioning B & B today.

• Beautiful views and terraces and outdoor living are enchanting features that visitors adore.

• The villa has a separate entrance and plentiful parking for guests.

• Access to the village is easy and only minutes away.

• It is just 20 kms to Nice International Airport, 10 minutes to the beaches of Villeneuve Loubet and 30 minutes to Cannes.

• Maganosc is on the Côte d’Azur tourist trail, although the villa is beautifully protected and private – the very best of all worlds.

Click for more, plus photos.

A Relaxing Retreat in Auribeau sur Siagne.

Price: 1 650 000€

This much loved villa and its lovely gardens may have been a pub or an inn centuries ago, as is believed to be the case, but since the property was lovingly renovated by previous owners who spent their golden years there, it has been a private home, which it still is today.

If desired, this villa lends itself perfectly to doubling as a gîte because it has the pool-side guest’s lodge separated from the main house, and a twin-bedroom caretaker’s premises which could also be separate accommodation for self-catering guests.

• The villa is set in very quiet surroundings.

• It has plentiful parking and separate entrance to guest accommodation.

• The guest house with its two double bedrooms and bathrooms overlooks the heated pool and is separated from the main house by a lovely stretch of garden.

• There is a separate caretaker’s wing made up of a sitting room and kitchen with two bedrooms sharing a bathroom, with its own entrance.

• Cannes and the beaches are just 13 km away, and Nice airport no more than 40 minutes.

• The old village is perched on a ridge at the entrance to the Gorges de la Siagne, and is very picturesque.

• It’s off the beaten tourist track, and is cool and calm in the summer, although it is located so close to Cannes.

Click to read more, plus photos.

Villa in Provence with Private Fishing.

Price: 2 490 000€

This has not been a B & B or a gîte before, or not during the last 15 years at least.

It is however made up of two separate residences, lived in as one. If one were given over to accommodate paying guests, I think I would reserve my summer holiday there right now!

• Situated in an extraordinarily beautiful river setting on six acres of parkland, this is a nature lover’s paradise.

• The grounds are extensive and total privacy and discretion is able to be offered to visitors.

• It is just 40 minutes to either Cannes or St Tropez, and an hour to Nice International Airport.

• Separate accommodation, separate entrance, separate parking are all possible.

• The quality of the stay offered to guests could be of the highest order, and therefore command a proportionately high weekly rental.

• Le Thoronet is the heart of Provence, and grew around the famous Cistercian Abbey which bears its name. Built in the XII century it is today, more than 1000 years later, recognised as an exceptional example of spirituality and philosophy transformed into architecture

Click for more, plus more photos.

Stunning Views From Old Mougins.

Price: 2 950 000€

This lovely villa on three levels clings to the ramparts of the mediaeval Old Town of Mougins, quite literally, and the world falls away before it. The views across the valleys and rolling hills to Cannes and the sea below make this a very unique property.

The lower level which includes the lovely heated pool and charming areas for seating has two en-suite bedrooms with their own living room, and a garden studio apartment. These are run as a popular and successful B & B today, and may continue to do so if the acquirer of this property wishes to continue it.

• On the edge of the Old Town of Mougins, the gastronomic jewel of the French Riviera with some of the best restaurants in France.

• Mougins’ strong culinary history includes such great chefs as Roger Vergé and Alain Ducasse Both were associated with the restaurant L’Amandier, which is situated in the heart of the old village. The tradition continues unabated today.

• Mougins is a magnet and people come from around the world to experience it.

• They also flock to experience the wealth of history which goes back to pre-Roman times.

• From Wikipedia – In modern times, Mougins has been frequented and inhabited by many artists and celebrities, including Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Fernand Léger, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Arman, Yves Klein, César Baldaccini, Paul Éluard, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Winston Churchill, Catherine Deneuve, Édith Piaf and Jacques Brel, to name but a few. Pablo Picasso spent the last 12 years of his life living in Mougins (1961–1973), where he died.

• Mougins is just 20 minutes from Cannes and less than 30 minutes from Nice International Airport.

• The price of this villa has recently been reduced.

Click for more, and photos.

Magnificent Double Villa in Super-Cannes.

Price: 5 500 000€

This is a very special home, but it does have the benefit of being two distinct and separate fully-equipped villas, connected by a covered, open-fronted veranda, all overlooking Cannes. This double-villa benefit extends to entertaining, and to hosting friends or family, but it also allows one to consider offering one half of the unique property as self-catering and very high-end accommodation for summer rentals. There is a market for such exclusive offerings and people needing this sort of facility are prepared to pay for it.

Click for more and photos.