The Hauts-de-Seine (92) département, meanwhile, forms a crescent surrounding western Paris when seen from above, from Gennevilliers to the north to Bagneux to the south. Boasting excellent schools and grandes écoles, fantastic road connections, La Défense business district, green spaces and close proximity to Paris, the département attracts wealthy families, sometimes straight out of the capital’s 16th and 17th arrondissements. The northern half of the Hauts-de-Seine mainly comprises chic and coveted municipalities, including Neuilly-sur-Seine, Boulogne-Billancourt and Levallois-Perret. To the south are the wooded towns of Saint-Cloud, for example, home to the département’s largest park, and the delightful Marnes-la-Coquette, a secluded green island popular with celebrities who can afford the prices. On a more accessible price scale, the future of real estate in the Hauts-de-Seine would seem to be to the south, in towns like Bagneux and Clamart. Once working-class neighbourhoods, they are now riding on the wave of their recent success and are still accessible to buyers thanks to the large number of houses to renovate here.

Essonne and Seine-et-Marne: active yet rural

A constant reminder that the Île-de-France region blends the city with countryside, the Essonne (91) département is full of surprises, particularly a rich artistic and architectural heritage. Combining an urban and dynamic north, home to a large number of companies, and a green and peaceful south, it has no shortage of attributes. The wooded spaces of Essonne total more than 42,000 hectares (103,785 acres), accounting for 23% of its full size, but the département is also full of verdant valleys and expansive agricultural fields. On the real estate front, prices naturally fall the further out from Paris you go, with a mix of primary and secondary residences in its historic towns and charming villages. A characteristic also found in Seine-et-Marne (77), the largest département in the Île-de-France region, which offers its inhabitants unrivalled quality of life between forests, countryside, historic sites and employment areas. Connected by a public transport network that includes TGV, RER regional and high-speed trains and hundreds of kilometres of bus routes, Seine-et-Marne certainly knows how to service its residents! The property market is like the département itself - vast! Whether it’s in the centre of a historic town or a smaller village, or even perhaps “out in the sticks”, prices remain affordable compared to the inner suburbs of Paris.

Val-d’Oise, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne: an incredibly diverse property market

Encompassing the bold architecture and bustling everyday life of Cergy-Pontoise and the dolce vita of La Roche-Guyon, on a loop of the Seine, Val-d’Oise (95) is a hotpot of contrasts. Divided between its rural northwest half with its charming listed villages among the most beautiful in France and its much more urban southeast half overlapping Greater Paris, there are many facets to this real estate market! Whether in the old or new-build sector, supply is abundant in the employment areas of Val-d’Oise, like Argenteuil-Bezons or the Vallée de Montmorency. An appeal fuelled by the extraordinary location of this département, on the edge of the countryside but at the crossroads of major European connections thanks to Charles de Gaulle airport and the A1 motorway. To the north of Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis (93) showcases its unique industrial heritage, buoyed by enduring human values. A working-class, sporting, cultural and energetic département, with prices to love. The municipalities in the north of Seine-Saint-Denis boast important economic hubs like Tremblay-en-France, for the most part covered by Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport, while Villepinte and its exhibition centre also in the north, spanning 10,000 sq.m (107,640 sq ft), regularly hosts major international trade fairs! Among the most coveted towns in the département for high-end real estate are Le Raincy and Villemomble, big players at high prices for the sector, but constantly in high demand among a Parisian clientele. Val-de-Marne (94) has its own atypical profile, given that 75% of its inhabitants live within 2km (1.2 miles) of a river. Between the urban hustle and bustle of Créteil with its préfécture, the hum of Orly Airport, the timeless charm of the open-air cafés along the banks of the Marne and the regeneration of its municipalities on the Parisian inner city border, Saint-Mandé and Gentilly first and foremost, Val-de-Marne naturally has a real estate portfolio that meets all requirements, whether for apartments or houses and even private mansions in town centres.

From the tree-lined avenues of Saint-Cloud to the regal atmosphere of Versailles, the surroundings of Paris offer multiple real estate investment opportunities. Families often choose Rueil-Malmaison or Saint-Germain-en-Laye, while professionals opt for Neuilly-sur-Seine or Boulogne-Billancourt. Explore stylish options in Levallois-Perret or discover your ideal apartment in the western suburbs of Paris.