Maison troglodyte: The airy, light-filled home built into a cave in France's Loire Valley

Who knew cave dwellers could be this stylish?

A surprisingly light-filled home built into a cave in France and offering all the creature comforts has hit the market.

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom Loire Valley residence could be yours for just €160,000 ($A263,920).

That’s about a quarter of the median Sydney house price of $1,032,338, or less than a third of Melbourne’s equivalent of $818,237.

Its 130 square metres includes a living area with dramatic rock walls, a bathroom with separate toilet, a spacious bedroom and fully equipped kitchen.

Outside, a circular courtyard leads to four extra nooks – former wine cellars – which could be developed as the buyer wishes.

On top of the cave is an orchard and grassy area, with the entire landholding covering about 1100 square metres.

The home is outside the town of Doué-la-Fontaine, about 270 kilometres from Paris.

Cave homes, or troglodyte homes, are not uncommon in the region. The chateaux of the Loire Valley were built with ancient stone which, once quarried, left holes in the surrounding hills that people moved into.

Several cave homes in the area are available for travellers to rent on Airbnb, billed as a “studio troglo“, “Studio de l’Ermitage” and this “charming troglodyte house“.

Houses have been built into the rock around the world, from Spain to Greece and South Australia’s own underground town Coober Pedy.

The cave home in France is listed through agency Espaces Atypiques.