Buying a second home in Europe: a complete guide
You keep coming back to the same streets in Paris, the same corner pub in Mayfair, the same market in Lisbon, and the thought surfaces again: what would it take to actually own a place there? Buying a second home in Europe used to mean navigating a foreign legal system, a foreign tax code, and a long list of local vendors on your own. It does not have to. This guide walks through the best places to look, what to expect as an international buyer, and how Pacaso's cross-border co-ownership in Europe gives you a real home abroad with local experts doing the heavy lifting. Europe is one of the rare places where short trips start feeling too short. A long weekend in Paris or London stretches a few days and you are already thinking about when you can come back. A second home turns that pattern into something you actually live, rather than rebook every year. Beyond the lifestyle, owning in Europe gives you a home base for the wider region. From Paris you can reach Amsterdam, Barcelona, or the Alps within a few hours. From London, the Cotswolds, Edinburgh, and Dublin are all a short hop. One home becomes a doorway to dozens of future trips with family and friends. Europe also has deep real estate markets in its most loved cities, with centuries of demand behind them. Central Paris and central London have been desirable for generations, which is part of why they remain the go-to answer for buyers searching for the best places to buy a second home in Europe. The right European city depends on how you want to spend time there: long weekends, multi-week stays, holiday seasons, or a bit of everything. A few cities Paris is the classic choice: world-class food, art, and fashion inside a city you can cross on foot. Neighborhoods like London is an English-speaking launchpad into the rest of Europe. Mayfair, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge remain anchor neighborhoods for buyers who want Georgian and Victorian townhouse living steps from parks, restaurants, and theater. It is also a natural pick if you travel on business and want a home that doubles as your European base. Lisbon, Barcelona, Florence, Milan, and Amsterdam all earn regular spots on best-of lists. Each one trades sunshine, cost, and cultural flavor differently. The common thread: pick a city you already love visiting, then decide whether you want a full-time solo purchase or a share in a home that is already set up for co-ownership. There is no single best European country to buy a second home. The honest answer is that the best country for you is the one that matches how you want to spend time, what you are comfortable managing from overseas, and which rules you are willing to work inside. A quick side-by-side helps. Pacaso is a luxury second home company that offers fully managed co-ownership of real homes in real cities. You purchase at least one 1/8 share in a property-specific LLC (or the local equivalent structure), share costs with other owners, and For international homes, Pacaso layers local expertise on top of that model. Practically, that means: You keep the lifestyle of a second home in Europe. Pacaso quietly absorbs the cross-border complexity in the background. Pacaso's European portfolio is a curated collection of homes in Pacaso's Pacaso's Pacaso's Expect local transfer taxes, notary or solicitor fees, and often a foreign-buyer premium on top of the purchase price. In France, notaire fees typically run a few percent of the price. In the United Kingdom, Utilities, property management, insurance, local taxes, and maintenance are real line items whether you own a whole home or a share. With co-ownership, each owner pays their portion, and Pacaso handles the vendors and billing. Budgets are transparent and require owner approval, so there are no surprises. Buying a second home in Europe does not automatically confer residency, and it does not require it either. You own a home, you visit it, and you follow local stay limits and tax rules. Some countries offer residency pathways tied to real estate that change over time. Your Pacaso Crewmembers can flag what is currently available so you can plan with your own tax professional. Owning abroad on your own means managing a purchase in another language, another currency, and another legal system, then maintaining a home you only visit part of the year. Pacaso was built to take that weight off. Through Pacaso's cross-border co-ownership in Europe, you share ownership of a designed, What you get: a curated home in a neighborhood you actually want to live in, If you are ready to look at specific homes, you can
Read