Looking for recreational land for sale in Alpes-Maritimes (06) means looking at a department where the coast and the mountainous hinterland compete for a scarce supply of land: olive terraces around Vence, chestnut and maritime-pine woods in the Roya, Vésubie and Tinée valleys, hay meadows in the high country around Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée. On this page, ma-propriete.fr gathers the listings of recreational land for sale in Alpes-Maritimes: a terraced olive plot, chestnut woodland, a mountain meadow, land to develop in the garrigue.
You will find price benchmarks drawn from actual sales, an overview of the areas where these plots are concentrated, and the points to check before buying a parcel classified as agricultural or natural. To frame your project, read our guide on how to turn agricultural land into recreational land; it shows in practical terms what can be installed on a non-buildable plot, and what cannot.
There is no such thing as a "recreational land price" in the French notarial records: the DVF database records sales of agricultural land, woodland and ponds, and a recreational plot is priced against these three benchmarks, higher or lower depending on what it adds (vehicle access, a water point, fencing, an existing shelter, a village nearby). The table below gives, for each benchmark, the sales recorded in 2025 in Alpes-Maritimes (06), the median price and the range between the first decile (floor) and the ninth decile (ceiling), with the national figure for comparison.
| DVF 2025 benchmark | Sales | Median price | Range (P10 – P90) | France median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bare agricultural land (€/ha) * | 59 | €13,518/ha | €5,947/ha – €23,101/ha | €5,307/ha |
| Woodland (€/ha) | 54 | €7,505/ha | €1,894/ha – €29,250/ha | €4,934/ha |
| Pond (€/m²) * | 313 | €2.54/m² | €1.03/m² – €6.90/m² | €2.54/m² |
Bare agricultural land is well above the national median (€5,307/ha), with the median price moving -9.8% between 2020 and 2025. Woodland trades well above the national benchmark (€4,934/ha), and a pond, a much rarer asset, is valued per square metre of water and banks. To compare a listing, bring everything back to the square metre: €13,518/ha of bare land is €1.35/m², against €2.54/m² for a pond. Recreational land, almost always classified as an agricultural or natural zone, generally sells slightly above bare agricultural land; but it usually remains subject to the SAFER land agency's right of pre-emption, and the SAFER may pre-empt with a downward price revision if the price is excessive compared with local land prices. These benchmarks therefore also help you avoid paying a price the SAFER would challenge.
Find the detail by department, plot size and year in our agricultural land price observatory and in the forest price observatory. Source: DVF (Demandes de valeurs foncières), 2025 sales, processed by ma-propriete.fr; medians published from 30 sales upwards. * Fewer than 30 sales in the department: the benchmark shown is the regional figure for "Bare agricultural land"; national figure for "Pond".
Around Vence and in the Grasse hinterland, plots mostly take the form of terraces planted with olive trees or left as garrigue, often classed as non-constructible land and small in size. Around Sospel, Breil-sur-Roya and the Vésubie valley, chestnut and maritime-pine woods dominate, a legacy of mountain farming now largely abandoned. These plots rarely come with a properly authorised shelter, and access is often steep. Many remain landlocked behind other properties for lack of a formal right of way.
Higher up, in the Tinée area and the Mercantour, the land turns into alpine pastures and larch stands, with hay meadows around Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée and Isola. Ponds are practically absent in this mountainous department: the few stretches of water that exist are counted at regional rather than local level. Mountain streams such as the Tinée or the Vésubie shape the landscape far more than the rare stretches of water, often reduced to small hillside reservoirs.
The Vence area, around Vence and Coursegoules, and the Grasse hinterland offer the most sought-after terraces, close to the coast and the main roads. The Roya valley, around Breil-sur-Roya, and the Vésubie valley, near Saint-Martin-Vésubie, offer chestnut woods and mountain plots at lower prices, despite sometimes winding access. The upper Tinée and the Mercantour, around Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée, remain high-mountain areas where recreational plots are limited to a few alpine pastures and hay meadows. On the coast itself, where the coastal protection law (loi Littoral) applies to riverside and coastal communes, recreational plots have almost disappeared in favour of built land. Where such land becomes nearly impossible to find, notably around Nice and Monaco, it is worth looking instead at the neighbouring Roya or Vésubie valleys.
The most affordable areas lie in the remote Roya and upper Tinée valleys. Terraces around Vence and woods close to the coast, in high demand, sell well above the regional average, with Alpes-Maritimes ranking among the most expensive departments in France for this type of land.
The first step is to check the commune’s local planning document (PLU): in an agricultural (A) or natural (N) zone, any new building is in principle prohibited, and a cabin, a chalet or a caravan cannot be installed freely. In coastal communes, the loi Littoral adds further restrictions. Check real access to the plot (rural track, right of way, landlocked parcel), the frequent absence of water and electricity on isolated terraces, and the risk of forest fire, very present from early summer in the pine and garrigue massifs. Some sellers also market a share of an undivided family plot rather than a clearly delimited parcel, which is worth clarifying before any offer.
On agricultural parcels, the SAFER land agency may exercise its right of pre-emption, with a risk of the price being revised downward if it strays sharply from local land prices. In the mountains, check natural hazards (landslides, rockfall) noted in planning documents, as well as the exact cadastral area and whether the boundaries have been surveyed, often long ago on terraced plots, which are frequently the result of successive divisions between heirs over several generations.
The listings of recreational land in Alpes-Maritimes published on ma-propriete.fr come from private sellers, estate agents and notaries. Filter by area, price and the presence of olive trees, then set up an e-mail alert to be notified of new plots. You can also widen your search to recreational land for sale in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
