Bastide Toulon (83)
A hillside villa in Toulon, south-east France, built on a 17th-century priory with vast wooded grounds and a sweeping view of the city’s natural harbour. An electric gate marks the main entrance. You reach it via a steep lane with two bends that is around 100 metres long. Beyond the gate, on the left, there is a large, flat parking space for four vehicles. A shelter there offers space for three vehicles. At a lower level, there is a half-open second space where two other vehicles can be parked. A few steps take you up to a wrought-iron double-leaf gate that leads into a covered entrance area from where you enter the house. The villa, crowned with a roof of barrel tiles, has two floors, extended with terraces on three sides. It was entirely renovated in the early 1990s, then in 1998. Its one-metre-thick walls rendered with roughcast bear witness to the building’s long history: the place was probably a priory that dated back to the 17th century – this is suggested by a millstone bearing the year ‘1630’ that was found on the site. The south-facing house is rectangular, built upon the rocky hillside with a flat ground floor. It offers a floor area of around 280m². Its many sliding picture windows across its facade herald a bright interior bathed in natural light. These windows are fitted with electric roller shutters. The west gable wall is made of exposed pointed stonework. A niche in this wall houses two small statues of cherubs. A vast terrace in front of the south-facing facade of white rendering offers a spectacular vista of the city below and, beyond it, Toulon’s natural harbour. On this terrace, you can relax in an infinity pool where you can admire an unrivalled view of the sea. On the left, two shelters offer shade and coolness in the summer heat. On the north side, two walkways lead to the first-floor terrace and the garden. The villa is surrounded by its vast wooded grounds on a slope.
$2,766,500
By Patrice Besse