Two thousand years ago the Romans made careful maps of their Empire to be able to collect taxes from all landowners – so nothing has changed there. In the museum in Beziers there are some old drawings of the plots of land, probably given to retired Roman soldiers to make into farms (and pay taxes) these Plans Cadastrale look very similar to the ones we use today for every property transaction, many of the plots and boubaries are exactly the same as they were in the year dot.

Getting a copy of the Plans Cadastrale of a property used to mean a visit to the local Mairie, waiting for everyone to come out of the pub/cafe/bar/bordello and get back into the office, then to be told their computer/Microfiche reader/printer/pencil/clay-tablet was out of order.

Now you can get these plans online at …
www.cadastre.gouv.fr

I can zoom in on my neighbours or anywhere in France and see exactly what area their plot of land is and where the boundaries are – so with Google maps and http://www.geoportail.fr/ you can get a very clear idea of a property offered for sale.

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