luxury property for sale Gare-La Roue, France

In Fontenay-aux-Roses, an elegant private mansion in need of renovation. Located near the city centre, on a calm street, surrounded by historical houses and residences, the property has attracted artists and intellectuals from all backgrounds thanks to its overwhelming charm. Built in 1860 in the middle of a verdant garden, it was the home to a famous dissident Russian writer from the 1970s up until today. The private mansion, which has not been changed in decades, is simply waiting to find its lustre once again. The three-storey stone façade is topped with a balustrade, vestiges of a probable rooftop terrace, now replaced by a zinc roof. Classical ornamental features characterise the entire building: bossages adorn the ground floor, a stringcourse highlights the first floor, while a dentilled cornice decorates the second; the windows, with surrounds decorated with delicate mouldings, are all aligned and symmetrically distributed around the axis of the wood and wrought-iron double-door on the ground floor. The front door is set back from the front steps, which can be accessed on either side of the stone guardrail. In the middle of the façade and overlooking the entrance, a balcony on brackets is adorned with a wrought-iron balustrade. The house includes a ground floor with an office, living room, a kitchen overlooking the garden, as well as a workshop. The two upstairs floors contain bedrooms with the possibility of converting some of them into larger rooms with en-suite bathrooms. The cellar, remarkable in its size, has two storage areas, including a well and a vaulted cellar, worthy of the greatest of winegrowers. Running alongside the property is a pedestrian path and a quiet street. Preceded by a garden decorated with a fountain, there is also a garage where a car can be parked, on the street side. An opulent wisteria vine festoons the façade, while, in the back, the outside area is punctuated with magnolias, lilacs and other bountiful varieties of shrubbery.