Does Vastu work in France?
Yes. Vastu Shastra is organised around directions, which are the same in France as in India, from Pondicherry's French quarter to Paris. The compass correction is small, between about 0° in Brittany and 3½° east in Alsace (2° east in Paris). What needs care is the plan itself: French floor plans name rooms their own way, many flats are small with a dégagement (inner hall) at their centre, and listings describe flats by the number of main rooms, so a T3 is not the same as a three-bedroom home.
French homes, read correctly
The report uses the names on your plan and reads them the way a home here is built:
Séjour or salon, cuisine, chambre, salle de bain, salle d'eau, WC, entrée, dégagement, cellier, buanderie, bureau and balcon are read as living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, shower room, toilet, entrance, inner hall, storage, laundry, study and balcony.
In France a T3 (or F3) has three main rooms: usually a séjour and two chambres. Kitchen, bathroom and WC are not counted. The report reads every room on the plan, counted or not.
A shower room and a separate WC are each scored by their direction. The north-east and the centre of the home are the places tradition avoids.
A cellier or a cave (cellar) is read as storage. Traditionally best for heavy storage: South-West, South or West, where heavy storage is traditionally placed.
Read as a living room, with the kitchen corner scored as a kitchen by its own position. Traditionally best for cooking: South-East, the zone traditionally linked with Agni (fire). North-West is the usual second choice.
Your own front door is the main door that is checked, with its exact position (pada) on its wall, not the door of the building.
The dégagement: when the centre of the flat is a hall
Many French flats are planned around a small inner hall, the dégagement, with the bedrooms, the bathroom and the WC opening off it. Classical Vastu cares a great deal about the centre of the home, the Brahmasthan, which it asks to be kept open, light and free of toilets, stairs and heavy walls. A dégagement at the centre is usually fine for Vastu if it is kept clear. A WC or a bathroom that falls at the centre is one of the issues the report flags, with fixes that need no building work.
New to Vastu? What it is, in brief
Vastu Shastra is a traditional Indian system of architecture and home layout, set out in Sanskrit texts such as the Mayamata and the Manasara. It divides a home into eight directional zones around its centre and suggests which rooms and activities suit which zone. Many Indian families use it when they buy, build or arrange a home, and so do people of other backgrounds who are curious about how a home is laid out.
Kept the lightest and least cluttered part of the home; a good place for prayer or quiet.
The zone traditionally linked with Agni, fire, so it is the classical place for cooking.
Linked with weight and stability; tradition places the main bedroom and heavy storage here.
It is a cultural tradition, not a science, and it does not promise outcomes. VastuIQ shows what the classical texts recommend, measured accurately for your home and your city, and you decide what to do with it. Most of the report's fixes need no building work: they are about how rooms are used and arranged.
Copropriété, renting and the syndic
Most flats in France are in a copropriété, where the règlement de copropriété and the syndic cover the façade, the windows and the shared parts. Choose Own it (building rules) in the tool: the report leads with fixes inside the home and marks anything structural as "If renovating". Renting? Choose Renting and every fix is one you can make without the landlord.
Compass vs true north in France
Across mainland France a compass points between about 0° (Brittany) and 3½° east (Alsace) of true north. Your score uses the exact figure for your own city.
| City | Compass vs true north | Daylight, mid-winter to mid-summer |
|---|---|---|
| Lille, Hauts-de-France | 2.2° east | 8.0 – 16.5 h |
| Paris, Île-de-France | 2.1° east | 8.2 – 16.2 h |
| Saint-Denis, Île-de-France | 2.1° east | 8.2 – 16.2 h |
| Nanterre, Île-de-France | 2.0° east | 8.2 – 16.2 h |
| Boulogne-Billancourt, Île-de-France | 2.1° east | 8.2 – 16.2 h |
| Massy, Île-de-France | 2.1° east | 8.3 – 16.2 h |
| Rennes, Brittany | 1.0° east | 8.4 – 16.1 h |
| Nantes, Pays de la Loire | 1.0° east | 8.5 – 15.9 h |
| Strasbourg, Grand Est | 3.5° east | 8.3 – 16.1 h |
| Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 2.8° east | 8.7 – 15.7 h |
| Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 2.9° east | 8.7 – 15.6 h |
| Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 1.4° east | 8.8 – 15.6 h |
| Toulouse, Occitanie | 1.9° east | 8.9 – 15.4 h |
| Montpellier, Occitanie | 2.5° east | 8.9 – 15.4 h |
| Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | 2.8° east | 9.0 – 15.4 h |
| Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | 3.2° east | 8.9 – 15.5 h |
Calculated for 2026 with the World Magnetic Model WMM-2025 (NOAA / British Geological Survey) and NOAA solar equations. "East" means a compass points to the east of true north.
Check one home, or compare your shortlist
- Score out of 100 and its band
- Your top three issues
- True north correction for your city
- Every room scored, with no-cost and low-cost fixes
- Your floor plans with the zones at true north
- Centre, front door and pada
- Action plan, 90-day plan and checklist
- Two or three homes side by side
- Which home fits Vastu best, and why
- Plus the full report for the home you choose
Prices are charged in US dollars and your bank converts them; local amounts are a guide.
Vastu in France: questions people ask
Does Vastu work in France?
Vastu Shastra is organised around directions, which are the same in France as in India, so its room-by-direction guidance can be applied to a French flat or house. What matters is setting north correctly on the plan and reading French rooms properly. Vastu is a tradition; it does not promise outcomes.
What is the difference between a T3 in France and in Portugal?
In France a T3 has three main rooms, usually a living room and two bedrooms. In Portugal a T3 has three bedrooms. For Vastu the label does not matter: the report reads every room on the plan by its direction.
Can I upload a French plan with French room names?
Yes. Séjour, chambre, cuisine, salle de bain, salle d'eau, WC, entrée, dégagement, cellier, buanderie and balcon are understood. You see how each room has been read on the confirm screen and can change it. The report itself is in English.
Do I need to correct my compass for Vastu in France?
Only a little: about 2° east in Paris, 3° east in Lyon, 2° east in Toulouse and 4° east in Strasbourg, and almost nothing in Brittany (World Magnetic Model). VastuIQ applies it automatically.
The WC is in the middle of my flat. What can I do?
Tradition prefers the centre of the home open and free of toilets. In a flat that cannot be changed, the report suggests no-cost fixes: keep the WC door closed, the room clean and well aired, and the area around it uncluttered.
Can I compare flats before signing a compromis de vente?
Yes. Use Compare 2–3 homes: the side-by-side comparison is free, and Home Buyer Compare (US$79, about €70) adds a PDF that ranks the homes and includes the full report for the one you choose.
Vastu for homes in other countries
Written by Manoj Jangra, founder of VastuIQ. Last updated 20 October 2026.
Vastu Shastra is a traditional and cultural practice. VastuIQ reports are not engineering, legal, financial or medical advice and do not promise any outcome.