Looking for recreational land for sale in Maine-et-Loire (49) means exploring an Anjou of many faces: the hedgerow country of the Mauges, the vine-covered hillsides of the Layon and the Saumurois, the Baugeois forests, and the Loire valley with its tuffeau-stone hillsides. Hedge-lined meadows, deciduous woodland, former vine plots on a slope make up most of the non-buildable supply. On this page, ma-propriete.fr gathers the listings of recreational land for sale in Maine-et-Loire: a hedge-lined meadow, Baugeois woodland, a Layon hillside with access.
You will find price benchmarks drawn from actual sales, a tour of the areas where these plots are concentrated and the precautions to take before buying in an agricultural or natural zone, particularly along the Loire, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Before any viewing, go through our guide on how to turn agricultural land into recreational land: it explains what the planning rules really allow.
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 Maine-et-Loire (49), 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) | 408 | €3,055/ha | €2,350/ha – €4,831/ha | €5,307/ha |
| Woodland (€/ha) | 83 | €4,492/ha | €2,783/ha – €8,414/ha | €4,934/ha |
| Pond (€/m²) * | 53 | €2.19/m² | €0.82/m² – €5.46/m² | €2.54/m² |
Bare agricultural land is well below the national median (€5,307/ha), with the median price moving +1.8% between 2020 and 2025. Woodland trades below 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: €3,055/ha of bare land is €0.31/m², against €2.19/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 "Pond".
The Mauges, to the west around Cholet and Beaupréau, keep a dense hedgerow landscape, with meadows often small in size and easy to fence, lined with living hedges. Along the Layon, between Thouarcé and Rochefort-sur-Loire, hillsides once planted with vines for sweet wine alternate with troglodyte cellars carved into the tuffeau stone, sometimes sold along with the plot. The Baugeois, to the east around Baugé, stands out for its large forests, such as the Chandelais forest, well suited to small wooded plots. The Segréen, further north, extends this hedgerow country with smaller meadows, often held by small cattle farms.
The Saumurois, around Saumur and Doué-la-Fontaine, combines vine-covered hillsides and old tuffeau quarries, in a valley landscape shaped by the Loire. Ponds are present in moderate numbers across the department, especially in the hedgerow country of the Mauges and the Segréen, where old farm ponds have sometimes been enlarged, as well as in the damp valleys of the Baugeois. They rarely take centre stage in a listing but are often included as an added feature of a larger meadow.
The Mauges, around Cholet, Beaupréau and Chemillé, hold most of the supply of hedge-lined meadows, at prices that have stayed moderate thanks to a still-scattered rural settlement pattern and a modest population density. The Layon valley, from Thouarcé to Rochefort-sur-Loire, attracts buyers looking for vine-covered hillsides and troglodyte cellars, with steady demand linked to the heritage setting of the Loire. The Baugeois, around Baugé and Noyant, offers large, affordable woods, less sought after than the areas closer to the river, and quieter for it. The Segréen, to the north around Segré, keeps a quiet hedgerow landscape with meadows and a few small woods.
The most affordable areas remain the Baugeois and the Segréen, away from the tourist routes of the Loire. Vine-covered hillsides in the Layon, plots close to Saumur and land with views over the Loire valley sell above the departmental average, in a market where prices otherwise stay fairly moderate at national level.
The local planning document classifies most land as agricultural (A) or natural (N), where a cabin, a chalet or a light leisure dwelling cannot be installed freely. Along the Loire, a UNESCO World Heritage site, heritage-protection rules can add to the local plan and limit certain developments, including on troglodyte cellars. Check the status of any existing cellar or shelter before buying, as well as access to the plot, especially on the steep hillsides of the Layon and the Saumurois.
On land classified as agricultural, the SAFER land agency is active in this wine-growing department and may exercise its right of pre-emption, with a risk of the price being revised down if it exceeds local land prices, which are fairly modest here. Water and electricity are lacking on many isolated hedgerow plots. The banks of the Loire include flood zones that should be checked before any project, even a minor one, and it is worth asking for the exact cadastral area before committing.
The listings of recreational land in Maine-et-Loire published on ma-propriete.fr come from private sellers, estate agents and notaries. Filter by area (Mauges, Layon, Baugeois) and by the presence of a pond, 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 Pays de la Loire.
