Buying a mill for sale in Saône-et-Loire (71) means choosing a large department where the Grosne, Arroux, Bourbince and Seille rivers once powered watermills for flour in the Mâconnais, Charolais-Brionnais and Autunois areas, alongside the Canal du Centre, which also carried a few industrial mills. On this page, ma-propriete.fr brings together the mills for sale in Saône-et-Loire: stone watermills to renovate, former flour mills, and millers' houses with outbuildings.
You will also find price benchmarks based on actual sales, an overview of the areas where these properties are concentrated, and the specific points to check before buying a mill. To prepare your project, read our guide to buying a country house in France, whose advice on old buildings, outbuildings and financing applies fully to a mill.
There are no official statistics dedicated to mills: sales are too rare and too varied (a ruin to restore, a habitable mill, a flour mill with a turbine). The most reliable market benchmark remains the price of country houses, which a habitable mill resembles, with a premium for the water, the character and the water rights, and a discount for the work required.
How much does a country house cost in Saône-et-Loire (71)? According to DVF data (notarised sales) analysed by the ma-propriete.fr observatory, the median price of a country house in Saône-et-Loire (71) stood at €160,000 in 2025, with an average price of €168,705 and a median price of €1,564/m² of living space (2,691 house sales in rural municipalities over the year). The price range is wide: 10% of houses sold for less than €80,000 (floor price, 1st decile) and 10% for more than €272,400 (ceiling price, 9th decile). The typical country house here offers 108 m² of living space on an average plot of 3,752 m², i.e. around 0.4 ha.
This market is close to the regional median (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: €157,000) and well below the national median (€189,200). Since the second half of 2020, the median price has risen from €135,585 to €160,000, i.e. +18.0%; over one year (2024-2025) the change is +5.3%.
| 2025 indicator | Saône-et-Loire | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | France |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median price | €160,000 | €157,000 | €189,200 |
| Average price | €168,705 | €168,680 | €207,100 |
| Floor price (1st decile) | €80,000 | €74,000 | €90,000 |
| Ceiling price (9th decile) | €272,400 | €279,670 | €340,000 |
| Median price per m² of living space | €1,564/m² | €1,525/m² | €1,830/m² |
| Average living space | 108 m² | 108 m² | 108 m² |
| Average plot size | 3,752 m² | 2,805 m² | 3,181 m² |
| Number of sales in 2025 | 2,691 | 11,450 | 150,313 |
A departmental average hides large gaps. A smallholding to renovate, a restored longère with its outbuildings, a farmhouse on several hectares of land or a manor house with parkland do not sell at the same price, and the location matters as much as the building: coastline, tourist area, peri-urban countryside close to a job market or deep countryside. The table below shows the median price of country houses in Saône-et-Loire (71) by type of municipality (cumulative sales from mid-2020 to 2025) and its change between 2021 and 2025.
| Type of municipality | Median price 2020-2025 | Median price per m² | Change 2021-2025 | Sales 2020-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inland tourist areas (hinterland, mountains) | €129,900 | €1,314/m² | +17.3% | 904 |
| Peri-urban countryside (city catchment area) | €175,000 | €1,695/m² | +12.4% | 6,619 |
| Deep countryside (outside urban influence) | €135,050 | €1,374/m² | +12.0% | 8,903 |
These benchmarks help you assess a listing, estimate a property before putting it up for sale, or set your budget for a holiday home or a permanent move to the French countryside. To go further, see our observatory of country house prices in France (national, regional and departmental analysis, downloadable annual report) and work out the full cost of your purchase, including French notary fees, with our notary fees calculator.
Saône-et-Loire is crossed by the Grosne, which flows down towards Cluny and Tournus, by the Arroux, which waters the Autunois area around Autun and Toulon-sur-Arroux, by the Bourbince, paralleled by the Canal du Centre between Paray-le-Monial and Montceau-les-Mines, and by the Seille, near Louhans. These rivers powered many watermills for flour, in Mâconnais limestone or Charolais-Brionnais granite depending on the area.
The former mining basin around Montceau-les-Mines and the Canal du Centre also had a few larger, more industrial mills, now converted to other uses. Windmills remain rare in Saône-et-Loire, limited to a few isolated remains on the limestone plateaus of the Mâconnais, since water power was favoured everywhere.
The Mâconnais area, around Cluny, Tournus and Mâcon, offers watermills at the heart of the vineyards, with direct access to the Le Creusot or Mâcon TGV stations. The Charolais-Brionnais area, around Charolles, Paray-le-Monial and La Clayette, offers more affordable bocage-country mill buildings. The Autunois area, around Autun and Toulon-sur-Arroux, completes the offering with mills on the Morvan foothills. Buyers should also note that renovation grants are sometimes available locally for properties within the Mâconnais or Charolais-Brionnais heritage perimeters, worth checking with the departmental services.
Areas close to the wine-growing Mâconnais and the Saône valley command prices notably above the regional average. Conversely, the rural Charolais-Brionnais and the Montceau-les-Mines basin remain among the most affordable in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté for a watermill to renovate. Proximity to the A6 motorway and the Le Creusot and Mâcon TGV stations makes journeys to both Paris and Lyon easy, an advantage appreciated by buyers looking for a second home or a remote-work base.
Check the existence and scope of the water rights (a mill fondé en titre or holding an authorisation), the condition of the millrace, weir and sluice gates, and the ecological-continuity obligations on the Grosne, Arroux and Bourbince rivers, several stretches of which are classified for trout spawning. A mill located along the Canal du Centre also involves specific rules linked to the public waterway domain, to be checked before buying. A prior assessment by a specialist in older buildings and hydraulic structures is strongly advisable before committing.
As for the building, Mâconnais limestone or Charolais granite, under flat-tile or slate roofing, requires attention to damp and flood zoning at the bottom of the valley. Outbuildings (barn, former workshop) make it possible to plan a gîte, an activity already well established in the Mâconnais vineyards and around Cluny. It is also worth checking the rules governing use of the Canal du Centre where the property connects directly to it, notably for a river-mooring project.
On ma-propriete.fr, mill listings in Saône-et-Loire are published by private sellers, estate agents and notaries. Filter by budget, living space and land area, set up an email alert to be told of new listings, and browse all mills for sale in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté if your search extends beyond the department.
