Looking for recreational land for sale in Var (83) means looking at a department of Mediterranean forest and vineyards, spanning the Maures massif, the Esterel massif and the Provence Verte hinterland: chestnut and cork-oak woods in the Maures, uprooted vineyards in Provence Verte, garrigue and pine woods on the Esterel hills. On this page, ma-propriete.fr gathers the listings of recreational land for sale in Var: cork-oak woodland, a former vineyard to redevelop, a meadow in Provence Verte, hunting land 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. Before any viewing, go through our guide on how to turn agricultural land into recreational land: it sums up what the PLU tolerates, what it forbids and the formalities to expect.
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 Var (83), 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) | 153 | €5,200/ha | €1,905/ha – €20,400/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 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".
The Maures massif, around Collobrières and La Garde-Freinet, offers cork-oak and chestnut woodland, classed as non-constructible land, where an old charcoal-burner’s or hunting cabin sometimes survives. The Esterel massif, around Fréjus and Saint-Raphaël, offers garrigue and maritime-pine hills, much sought after but subject to a high fire risk. Provence Verte, around Barjols and Cotignac, has more farmland, including former vineyards that have been uprooted and turned into meadows or left fallow. Some Provence Verte plots still carry olive or old almond trees, a legacy of mixed farming now largely abandoned.
Ponds are practically absent in the department: the Var’s terrain, caught between sea and mountains, has only a handful of stretches of water, more visible at regional level. Rivers such as the Argens or the Gapeau do offer some riverbank plots, valued for fishing and for the welcome cool they bring in the height of summer. In the upper Var, around Comps-sur-Artuby, the Verdon gorges mark the border with Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and offer a few more remote limestone-plateau plots.
Provence Verte, around Barjols, Cotignac and Aups, holds the most affordable meadows and former vineyards, away from coastal pressure. The Maures massif, between Collobrières and Le Luc, offers more remote cork-oak woods, reached by winding roads. The Fayence area and the Draguignan hinterland offer garrigue hills and olive groves close to hilltop villages, generally at more moderate prices than along the coastal fringe. Along the coast, between Hyères, Toulon and Saint-Tropez, where the loi Littoral applies, recreational plots have almost disappeared in favour of residential building. Around Draguignan and the Sainte-Croix lake, on the border with Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a few limestone-plateau and garrigue plots remain, more affordable than on the coast.
The most affordable areas lie inland, towards Provence Verte and the upper Var. Woods in the Maures massif and plots close to the coast, much sought after, sell above the regional average, with Var ranking among the departments where woodland fetches a high price.
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. The risk of forest fire is the main point to watch in this department, particularly in the Maures and Esterel massifs: check the brush-clearing obligations and the prevention plans that apply, which can restrict how close a shelter may stand to the tree line and require regular vegetation upkeep across the whole plot every year. Also check real access to the plot (rural track, right of way, landlocked parcel) and the frequent absence of water and electricity away from hamlets.
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. Also ask for the exact cadastral area and whether the boundaries have been surveyed, particularly on former vineyard plots that are often split into small parcels between several owners after a farm was broken up.
The listings of recreational land in Var published on ma-propriete.fr come from private sellers, estate agents and notaries. Filter by area, price and type of woodland, 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.
