Assumedly spurred by the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Johnny Depp went and purchased an entire run-down French village in 2001, reportedly spending millions to transform the hamlet, defined by various 19th-century buildings, into a unique spot just 27km outside of the emblematic luxury of Saint-Tropez. On two separate occasions – namely 2015 and 2016 – Johnny Depp has been trying to bid adieu to the compound, listing it between US$25 million (~AU$34 million) and US$63 million (~AU$86 million), but his sweet spot of quirky French charm never sold. Well, it’s back on the market as of this month, with Johnny Depp’s French Village being re-listed for roughly US$55 million (~AU$75 million).
Captain Jack Sparrow has owned plenty of off-kilter properties in his career, including a horse farm in Kentucky which he purchased on two separate occasions, but none quite match the scale of owning an entire French village, saved from a crumbling heap and turned into a uniquely theatrical slice of provincial France. Depp reportedly spent plenty of time in the village during the 14 years he was married to French actor and singer Vanessa Paradis, building a number of features especially for their two children, Lily-Rose and Jack. As such, the French village is much more than just its 4,500-square-foot main residence, which itself features 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.
The unnamed village, which sits in Provence’s Le Plan De La Tour, also hosts an onsite bistro named Chez Marceline, a blanchisserie (a laundry), an ostentatious, pirate-like wine cave, and its very own skate park, alongside several other houses. In total, Johnny Depp’s French Village hosts 15 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, and 2 large swimming pools across six guest cottages and that aforementioned main residence.
Somewhere in that dense spread of restored historic buildings, Depp has also included a fully-kitted gym, an art studio, and a covered wagon with its own bath and kitchen.
Many of the structures were reportedly decorated and designed by Depp himself, who seemingly focused much of his creativity in turning the town’s abandoned church into one of the 6 guest homes. Other buildings were designed to look like small businesses, giving the village plenty of life alongside its bucolic spread of 300-year-old oaks, fragrant olive trees, and nearby vineyards.
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Owning Johnny Depp’s French village, in the South of France, a short road trip from the wealth-barometer that is Saint-Tropez, is obviously going to come with plenty of bragging rights. Is that worth $75 million? Check out the walk-through video below and some more photos and decide for yourself.
