Metric, Imperial and Temperature Converter

Convert Metric Areas, Surfaces and Distances

If you are planning to buy a home in France and have been looking at property listings online, you may have noticed that areas are measured in square meters (m² or sqm) for internal spaces, and for small gardens and parks. For countryside homes and farm properties, land areas are typically measured in hectares (ha), where one hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square meters or about 2.5 acres. To give you some perspective, a standard football pitch is approximately 7,140 sq. metres, more than two-thirds of a hectare!

Our metric converter was designed to simplify and learn about converting, to and from the metric system. But first we ask ...

What is the Metric System?

The metric system is an internationally recognised system of measurement that uses the metre, litre, and gram as base units of length (distance), capacity (volume) and weight (mass), respectively.

Let's begin with some historic background; the metric system succeeded the decimalised system which had been introduced in France in 1795. After the French Revolution, the government asked scientists to replace thousands of traditional measurement systems with one simpler system, aiming to unify the different regions of France. The metre was developed by measuring one-ten-millionth of the quadrant of Earth’s circumference from the North Pole to the equator through the capital city of Paris.

International Measurement System (SI)

This new unit, measuring about thirty-nine inches was named a metre, and all measurements were calculated based on it. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the International System of Units (SI) in the mid-20th century.