Recreational land for sale in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: listings and 2025 prices

Looking for recreational land for sale in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes means covering a patchwork of landscapes stretching from Bourbonnais hedgerow country to alpine summits: fishponds of the Dombes, Ardèche chestnut groves and garrigue, volcanic plateaus in Cantal and the Velay, Beaujolais hillsides with old vine terraces, and the alpine pastures of Savoie and Haute-Savoie. On this page, ma-propriete.fr gathers the listings of recreational land for sale across the region: hay meadows, woodland on a slope, a plot with a pond, and land to develop along a river or a mountain stream, with or without a shelter.

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. Read first our guide on whether you can plant trees on agricultural land: it sets out what the local planning rules allow in A and N zones.

How much does recreational land cost in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in 2025?

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 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the median price and the range between the first decile (floor) and the ninth decile (ceiling), with the national figure for comparison.

Bare agricultural land is well below the national median (€5,307/ha), with the median price moving +7.5% between 2020 and 2025. Woodland trades well 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: €3,887/ha of bare land is €0.39/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 pond 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 region: the benchmark shown is the national figure for "Pond".

What makes recreational land for sale in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes specific

Meadows, woods and ponds: sharply contrasted landscapes by department

The region stacks up very different landscapes. In Ain and Allier, the Bourbonnais bocage and the Dombes offer hedge-lined meadows and countless fish ponds, sometimes sold with a fisherman's hut. In Ardèche and the Drôme provençale, garrigue, chestnut groves and old vine terraces make up a typical plot to develop, often sloping, with dry-stone retaining walls. Cantal and Haute-Loire offer hay meadows and high moorland on volcanic bedrock, while the Rhône department still has former vineyard slopes in the Beaujolais converted into small plots.

In Isère, the Chartreuse massif and the Vercors add mountain pastures and conifer woods; the Loire department, around the Pilat and the Forez hills, offers moorland and beech coppice. A cabin or an old alpine chalet is sometimes found on these plots, but its legal status varies widely from one commune to another and must always be checked before buying, along with any spring or water catchment on the parcel.

Where to look: the Dombes, Ardèche, Cantal, the Chartreuse and Beaujolais

The Dombes, between Bourg-en-Bresse, Villars-les-Dombes and Meximieux, holds most of the region's pond supply, with easy access from Lyon via the A42 and A6 motorways. In Ardèche, the Boutières area, the Ardèche plateau around Le Cheylard and the Eyrieux valley combine woodland and terraced meadows; the Drôme provençale, around Nyons and Dieulefit, appeals for its garrigue-covered hills. Cantal, around Murat, Saint-Flour and the Cézallier, and Haute-Loire, around the Velay and the Mézenc, offer wide hay meadows reached by the A75 and A89 motorways. In Isère, the outskirts of Chambéry, Grenoble and the Grésivaudan valley remain sought after despite land pressure.

In Savoie and Haute-Savoie, recreational land in the strict sense, excluding alpine pasture and high mountain ground, becomes scarcer with altitude; buyers then turn to valley floors, foothill meadows or neighbouring departments. Areas close to Lyon, Annecy and Chambéry sell well above the regional average, while Cantal, Haute-Loire and Allier remain among the most affordable, with land pressure staying comparatively low.

Points to check before buying in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

The local planning document (PLU) is the first thing to check: in an agricultural (A) or natural (N) zone, new building is in principle excluded, and a shelter, a chalet or a light leisure dwelling cannot be installed freely. On the meadows and ponds of the Dombes, the French water law governs the maintenance of the dam and the outlet and can require a formal declaration. In Ardèche and Drôme, fire risk on plots covered in garrigue or scrub requires regular clearing, often mandatory near dwellings.

Water and electricity remain rare outside hamlets, particularly on the high meadows of Cantal and Haute-Loire. On land classified as agricultural, the SAFER land agency may exercise its right of pre-emption, with a risk of a downward price revision if the asking price departs from local land values, which in this region sit well below the French median. Finally, check access to the plot (rural track, right of way, landlocked parcel), any indivision among sellers, and the exact cadastral area before committing.

The listings of recreational land in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes published on ma-propriete.fr come from private sellers, estate agents and notaries across the twelve departments of the region. Filter by area, price, department and the presence of a pond, then set up an e-mail alert to be notified as soon as a new plot is listed. You can also widen your search to rural property for sale in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.