A riverside family house with a beautiful view of the River Seine and its banks,
nestled near the historical town of Provins, 100 kilometres east of Paris
nestled near the historical town of Provins, 100 kilometres east of Paris
Provins,
SEINE-ET-MARNE
ile-de-france
77160
FR
Location
The property is tucked away in the south-east corner of the Île-de-France region that surrounds Paris. It also lies in the south-east of France’s Seine-et-Marne department. It is located in the heart of the La Bassée nature reserve. The home is around 100 kilometres from Paris and only a dozen kilometres from Provins, a charming town listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Similarly, it is just a dozen kilometres from Nogent-sur-Seine, a town known for its fine restaurants that draws gourmets for riverside lunches and dinners. Both towns offer shops and amenities for everyday needs, as well as train stations with regular rail links taking you into the French capital. From a bus stop 100 metres from the property, buses take you to Longueville train station in only 15 minutes. This station is on the Paris-Provins train line. From here, you can get into the French capital in just one hour. Even though this property lies on the River Seine, it has never undergone any flooding in living memory thanks to the Lac d’Orient reservoir lake, which regulates the flow of the River Seine. In 2024, not even Storm Kirk caused any flooding on this property. Lastly, another hamlet, only four kilometres away, offers a minimarket, a newsagent and a bakery.
Description
On the street side, a wrought-iron gate framed between a hedge leads into a small court edged with a paved path. This paved path extends alongside the house on one side to reach the garden, which lies behind the house. This lush outdoor space stretches from the dwelling down to a municipal towpath that runs alongside the River Seine. You reach this towpath via a wooden gate in a fence at the bottom of the garden. The property is enclosed with hedges, a fence and a wall. In the street-side court, there is a small woodstore. And an extension on one side of the dwelling connects to the home and is used as a greenhouse. On the garden side, behind the house, there is a paved terrace with a barbecue area and a large stone bench. With a few cushions on this bench, you can enjoy a nap in the shade. A little lower down, there is a swimming pool with neat stone edging and an outdoor shower beside it. A stone outhouse stands beyond the pool. And in line with this outhouse, on the river side, there is a wooden shed with a roof of sheet metal. Lastly, beyond the municipal towpath that runs alongside the River Seine, there is a private wooden jetty.
The house
The house has a ground floor and a first floor. Its elevations are coated with white rendering and punctuated with small-paned windows. The dwelling is crowned with a roof of local flat tiles. Its architecture is typical of elegant 1960s homes that stand along the River Seine. A section that protrudes slightly from the rear elevation features a delightful arched window. The roof has two asymmetrical slopes dotted with skylights. And there is a tall gabled dormer on the roof’s garden side. Many rectangular windows, including French windows, face the garden. Lastly, a stone terrace extends at the foot of the rear elevation, edging the lush lawn.
The ground floor
The main entrance door is on the street side. You reach it via a small court that separates the house from the road. You step straight into a lounge with a floor adorned with beautiful slabs of Burgundy stone. From here, a splendid spiral staircase, made of wrought iron and painted, leads up to the bedrooms on the first floor. The dual-aspect lounge is bathed in natural light that floods in through the garden-facing French windows. From autumn, or just on cool evenings, the fireplace with its insert gives off a gentle, comforting heat. The lounge connects to a dining room, which also has a fireplace with an insert. This dining room is similarly filled with natural light, from two windows on the court side and from French windows on the garden side. Its floor is adorned with terracotta tiles. An oak staircase leads up to the first floor. The complementary colours of the fitted kitchen – the terracotta of its floor tiles, combined with the blue of its wall tiles – add to the interior’s harmony. Here, a glazed door leads out to the court and a window brings natural light into the kitchen. The other door in the dining room leads to a hallway, which serves as a small office and has a window that looks out at the garden. Terracotta tiles adorn the floor of this hallway, which connects to a lavatory, a bathroom with beige tiling and a ground-floor bedroom with wood strip flooring and a garden-facing window. Beyond the kitchen, there is a scullery with a boiler, then a utility room with a sink and tiled floor. A small greenhouse protrudes towards the garden. It is looks like an annexe, but it connects to the scullery so it is actually an integral part of the house.
The upstairs
The main staircase leads up to a landing. On the left, this landing connects to a bedroom with sloping attic ceilings. This bedroom is bright and it adjoins a bathroom with a bath and lavatory. On the other side of the landing, there is a second bedroom, which also has sloping attic ceilings. It offers many storage spaces too. Two roof windows bring natural light inside it. This second bedroom connects to a third bedroom, which is filled with natural light from a window and a skylight. Yet the second bedroom remains independent as a spiral staircase links the adjoining third bedroom to the lounge downstairs. So the third bedroom is independent too, like the other ones.
The swimming pool
The heated swimming pool is eight metres long and four metres wide. It is outlined with neat stone edging and set in a stone terrace. It forms a link between the house, the terrace, the garden and the outbuilding. This pool enjoys absolute privacy, hidden by an enclosing wall, two thick hedges and the house itself. An outdoor shower completes this swimming and sunbathing area.
The outbuilding
The outhouse is a building made of local stone. It is crowned with a single-slope roof of tiles and stands beside the swimming pool. It has two rooms. The first one offers a 7m² floor area. It houses the technical installations of the chlorine-treated pool and is also used to store tools and garden furniture. The second room offers an 8m² floor area and serves as a workshop.
The shed
The shed stands in line with the outbuilding. It is a discreet wooden structure with a roof of sheet metal. It offers a 6m² floor area and is used to store bicycles and tools.
The jetty
On the other side of the fence at the bottom of the garden and beyond the municipal towpath, a private timber jetty extends over the river. It needs to be renovated as it has not been used recently and has deteriorated somewhat.
Our opinion
This pleasant riverside dwelling lies close to Paris, yet it seems tucked away at the end of the earth. It lies in a lush, bucolic backdrop where the majestic River Seine widens to look like a lake. The beautiful property enjoys absolute privacy, hidden behind luxuriant vegetation. The broad section of the River Seine here is actually one of the rare spots where you can enjoy waterskiing on the river. Further upstream, the Lac d’Orient reservoir lake regulates the river’s flow well, which explains why the River Seine has never caused flooding in this peaceful hamlet – not even during Storm Kirk in 2024. The delightful house offers precious assets, such as a ground-floor bedroom and bathroom and three bedrooms upstairs, including a bedroom with private access, which would be perfect for renting it out as a guestroom or simply for giving visitors some independence. The fireplace inserts make the interior warmly welcoming and the swimming pool outside adds to the friendly atmosphere here. The decor is elegantly understated in style. This haven of calm with a magnificent river view, nestled in a highly sought-after rural location near Paris, would be the ideal family home.
Reference 826664
| Land registry surface area | 820 m2 |
| Main building surface area | 145 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 4 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 25 m2 |
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NB: The above information is not only the result of our visit to the property; it is also based on information provided by the current owner. It is by no means comprehensive or strictly accurate especially where surface areas and construction dates are concerned. We cannot, therefore, be held liable for any misrepresentation.
