These cathedral cities near Paris that attract Ile-de-France residents
Thanks to the development of flex office, which makes it possible to reconcile telework and face-to-face work, the cathedral cities shine with all their fires for Parisians tempted by the idea of ”living elsewhere”. A trend revealed in particular by the 2021 barometer of the real estate consulting network Arthur Loyd, on the attractiveness of French cities and the resilience of the territories.
Located within a radius of less than 150 kilometers from Paris, the cities of Amiens, Chartres, Orléans, Reims and even Rouen have the commonality of having a direct train connection with a Paris station, a journey time by car or by train less than two hours and have a gothic style cathedral.
Amiens and its floating gardens
Like Amiens, which ticks all the boxes in terms of attractiveness. It is located just over 130 km from Paris by road and 1 hour 10 minutes by train. “By the end of 2025, the arrival of the TGV should link Amiens to Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport in less than sixty minutes, without users needing to go through Paris”, argues Alain Gest, president of Amiens Métropole, which has 180,000 inhabitants, including 135,000 in Amiens. Crossed by the Somme, this city is proud to offer a quality of life reconciling modernity and heritage, symbolized by the Gothic cathedral which dominates the city centre.
A few hundred meters further extend the hortillonnages, which group together, in the city center, a number of market gardens surrounded by water. A unique site in the world listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also known as the little Venice of the North, it also seduces young people aged 7 to 77 with its comic strip festival. The image business will take off.
By the end of 2025, the arrival of the TGV should link Amiens to Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport in less than sixty minutes.
Alain Gest, president of Amiens Métropole
Of the 60 million euros devoted to culture for 2022-2026 by the metropolis, nearly 20 million will go to the future Image and Creation center. This project will be located in the ZAC Gare-La-Vallée. A flagship district located near the train station. New housing under construction will surely attract Parisians. According to Arthur Loyd’s 2021 barometer, the average purchase price of a 60 m apartment2 amounts to 129,000 euros in Amiens, 132,000 in Chartes, 136,000 in Reims, 138,000 in Orléans or 154,200 in Rouen. In any case, an amount without equivalent with the realities of the Parisian or Ile-de-France market.
Rouen and its transport offer
Located less than an hour from the sea and 1 hour 24 minutes from Paris, Rouen offers a residential housing stock seven times lower than in Paris. A criterion of choice for the 40,000 students in its population of 140,000 inhabitants. Among the many attractions of the city of 100 steeples, let’s mention its transport offer. Starting with its electric bike rental service. “It works like thunder! ” ignites Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, the president of Métropole Rouen Normandie who is also mayor of Rouen.
In terms of novelties, the people of Rouen have benefited, since October 2020, from a free carpooling service for passengers thanks to the Klaxit application. Launched on an experimental basis, it is financed by the conurbation, which pays the driver a flat rate of two euros per trip and per passenger. This is in addition to free transport for all on Saturdays. A service also offered in Amiens.
The attractive Reims
Among the cathedral cities, Reims (190,000 inhabitants) can be proud of having Arthur Loyd’s best attractiveness index with a score of 0.47, against 0.43 for Orléans or 0.36 for Amiens. Its strengths? Its proximity to Paris “since it only takes forty-five minutes to reach the Gare de l’Est”, as Catherine Vautrin, president of the urban community of Greater Reims, points out.
The latter is also seeing an increase in the number of commuters. “We have a thousand people who go to Paris and 300 who work in Reims, where we have just created a 200-hectare business zone around the TGV station,” reports the president of Grand Reims. Enough to attract new start-ups. In ten years, 330 companies have already settled in Reims.