Je ne sais quoi...
So, for instance, this is an old seaside resort in Northern France, Mers-les-Bains that was developed during what they call Belle Époque, an era that spans from 1870 to 1914 (WWI).
The town was built by the French upper middle class and wealthy in various styles, most noticeably Art Nouveau back then.
I'll quickly explain what the video says to you guys.
• Video Link
The guy on his bike is Nicolas. He's what they call a "régisseur". The owners of a dozen of townhouses in the village pay him to watch their properties, manage maintenance and make sure everything is ok for the tourists renting their properties or for themselves.
Nicolas says the town feels great cause it's full of various northern styles, mostly from Picardy and Normandy. There's a lot of brick and woodwork, along with mosaics and ceramics as ornaments.
Lots of bow windows imported from England in the 1870s.
Ornaments are typical of Art Nouveau, mostly made up of plants, sometimes of animals.
It looks like some sort of Disney village, except it's all way older, original and genuine, then it looks much better.
1:30 Old-school shutters from Picardy... Not super convenient. In modern apartments, you only push a button to open shutters.
Local weather is like that of San Francisco, very changing and frustrating. You get a bit of sunshine, then it rains 5 minutes later. That's why we Parisians would rather go south for vacations.
I've never been to this town by the way, but it looks pretty. I saw some pictures by a member of the French forum.
2:35 This woman with gray hair is a craftswoman specialized in ceramics. Nicolas needs her because the owner of the house they're watching wants ornaments totally refurbished.
3:08 some bits of the facade were damaged by time and weather.
3:33 You see that piece of ceramic that was replaced by some gross do-it-yourself? That's wrong. The original needs to be reproduced by specialized crafsmen.
Those homes are not cheap to maintain, but the entire area that contains some 600 such townhouses is registered to the national heritage, so owners have to submit to related requirements.
5:00 More Art Nouveau... There's some ongoing refurbishment to that one too.
That's about it. Typical bourgeois homes from Northern France. You'd find this style from Normandy to regions neighboring Germany, in Lorraine and Alsace.
It must be pleasant in the summer, though. You definitely can rent a home like this for a couple of weeks if you will, but the sea might be kinda cold compared to what you get in southern France.