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Guides and land stories

Remarkable land

Each page starts from a plot in the land registry and tells what was built on it, with dates, areas and the national aerial photograph.

In Poissy, above the Seine, a 1931 house on pilotis in a one-hectare meadow
Editor's pick · Poissy, YvelinesIn Poissy, above the Seine, a 1931 house on pilotis in a one-hectare meadowA weekend house finished in 1931, threatened with demolition after the war, listed as a historic monument in 1965 and a World Heritage site since 2016.Read the story →
At Kinderdijk, below sea level, eight windmills of 1738 on the edge of a 4.4-hectare basin
Kinderdijk, Molenlanden (Netherlands)At Kinderdijk, below sea level, eight windmills of 1738 on the edge of a 4.4-hectare basinNineteen drainage windmills, all still in working order, on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997.Read the story →
At the mouth of the Gironde, on a rocky plateau bared at low tide, the royal lighthouse completed in 1611
Le Verdon-sur-Mer, GirondeAt the mouth of the Gironde, on a rocky plateau bared at low tide, the royal lighthouse completed in 1611A 67-metre lighthouse out at sea, listed as a historic monument in 1862, still in service and kept all year round.Read the story →
In Saint-Véran, in the Queyras, a village of larch and stone stretched along a south-facing slope at 2,042 metres
Saint-Véran, Hautes-AlpesIn Saint-Véran, in the Queyras, a village of larch and stone stretched along a south-facing slope at 2,042 metresA commune of 160 people in the Queyras regional nature park, with its school, town hall and church above 2,000 m.Read the story →
In Croix, on the Beaumont hill, a modernist château of 1932 and its 72-metre reflecting pool
Croix, NordIn Croix, on the Beaumont hill, a modernist château of 1932 and its 72-metre reflecting poolA family house with a 60-metre front, finished in 1932, abandoned after 1986, listed in 1990 and opened to the public in 2015.Read the story →
In Carnac, north of the town, rows of standing stones over 4 kilometres in 70 hectares of heath
Carnac, MorbihanIn Carnac, north of the town, rows of standing stones over 4 kilometres in 70 hectares of heathSome 3,000 menhirs raised in the Neolithic, listed as historic monuments in 1889 and inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 12 July 2025.Read the story →
In Vosne-Romanée, on the Côte de Nuits, a vineyard of 1 ha 81 a 40 ca on two cadastral plots
Vosne-Romanée, Côte-d’OrIn Vosne-Romanée, on the Côte de Nuits, a vineyard of 1 ha 81 a 40 ca on two cadastral plotsA vineyard whose boundaries have barely changed since the sixteenth century, bought by the Prince of Conti in 1760 and zoned as strictly protected vineyard land.Read the story →
In Arles, between the Rhône and the sea, the largest commune in mainland France and its 33,647 plots
Arles, Bouches-du-RhôneIn Arles, between the Rhône and the sea, the largest commune in mainland France and its 33,647 plots757 km², seven times the size of Paris, 51,811 inhabitants at the 2023 census, and a Roman amphitheatre whose plot follows the ellipse.Read the story →
In the Galaure valley, a stone palace built in a kitchen garden from 1879 to 1912
Hauterives, DrômeIn the Galaure valley, a stone palace built in a kitchen garden from 1879 to 1912Built by the postman Ferdinand Cheval, listed as a historic monument in 1969, owned by the commune since 1994.Read the story →
In the Entre-deux-Mers, above the Ségur, a whole commune in 103 plots
Castelmoron-d’Albret, GirondeIn the Entre-deux-Mers, above the Ségur, a whole commune in 103 plotsOnce the seat of a seneschal’s court, home to 50 people at the 2023 census, and mapped by the cadastre as a single section.Read the story →

Our editorial pact

Choosing the places
We pick places whose land explains their history: the plot, its slope, its soil or its boundaries decided what was built there. No place pays to appear in this section, and no link is sponsored.
Facts
Dates, areas and names come from the country's public records (heritage, mapping and statistics agencies, archives) or the place itself. Each page lists its sources with links. What we cannot check, we do not write.
Plot figures
The cadastral reference, area, zoning, elevation and solar yield are read from the country's public data on the day of publication (in France the cadastre, the Géoportail de l'Urbanisme and Géorisques; across Europe, PVGIS). The reading date is given under the table.
Facts and opinion
"Our view" is the only part where the editors give their opinion. It adds no new facts: everything it mentions appears above, with its source.
Images
The aerial views come from each country's mapping agency under an open licence (IGN in France, PDOK in the Netherlands, PNOA in Spain, swisstopo in Switzerland, the Länder survey offices in Germany), with the plot outline drawn by OpenParcels. Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences, with credits.
Corrections
An error reported by a reader or by the place is corrected, and the page's update date changes. To reach us: redaction@openparcels.eu.

Aerial photographs: IGN, BD ORTHO, Licence Ouverte. Plot outlines: French cadastral plan (DGFiP, IGN).