Bidart and Guéthary, two resorts of genuine charm
Radia Amar - 20 October 2015
Old fishing harbours in the province of Labourd, between Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, these two communes have convincing arguments for tourists, and are attracting more and more year-round residents looking for a quiet life-style typical of seaside resorts.
On the Bordeaux-Irun railway line, Bidart is a charming locality with 5,720 inhabitants whose 5-km shoreline is split into six lovely beaches edged by green hills. Seven kilometres from Biarritz, Guéthary covers an area of 1.4 sq. kilometres. This former whaling port, also with a train station, is getting a shot in the arm, especially in summer, with a lively programme of cultural events. Boasting 14 restaurants and a brand new 3-star hotel, Le Baléa, Guéthary welcomes many tourists in the high season, some of whom fall for the charm of its neo-Basque architecture and decide to buy a holiday home or, more and more often, a permanent residence, as families can send their children to the brand new primary school.
Though based in Guéthary, Arthur Desmazières of the Contre Vents et Marées agency also handles a good number of properties for sale in Bidart. “The market here starts at 4,000 € per sq. metre for simple homes in the intermediate category, and may defy all logic in terms of prices for examples offering a full array of attributes, ie. a prime location, a view, proximity to the beach, a home offering charm and tasteful renovation.” By way of example, our expert mentions an early 20th-C. house of 230 m2, renovated throughout, between Bidart and Guéthary, 150 m from the beach, on offer at 1,490,000 €. “No longer a fall-back market for Biarritz, Bidart has become a market chosen in its own right. It offers a wide variety of properties, and there is now a real waiting list of serious buyers set on living on this commune. The luxury segment is limited, with houses priced from 800,000 to 1,200,000 € becoming very scarce in the face of considerable demand. The centre is also popular, and you can sometimes find real gems, such as a town house of 400 m2 on three floors, facing due south, in need of renovation. Benefiting from a terrace and small garden, offering clear views of the mountains, it is up for sale at over 1 million euros.
More well-known, Guéthary is a real micro-market, an essential address on the Basque Coast. Owning a home here implies a certain prestige. “The market is doing well and demand is higher than last year,” says Chantal Marthan of Guéthary Immobilier. “A good number of couples, still working and often with children, are moving in year-round.” Self-employed professionals, artists, designers, and others who can work from home are drawn by the quality living conditions offered by the commune. Most enquiries involve the side of the village on the sea, for its immediate proximity to the beach and centre. Though very quiet, the area around the church is less popular, despite its very pretty listed houses in the Quartier des Capitaines. These charming residences sheltered from the wind are less sought-after than former fishermen’s houses facing the sea, whose prices can soar rapidly. “One of them, with living space of 90 m2, recently sold for 1,200,000 €,” comments Chantal Marthan. Among her recent sales, she mentions a 3-storey house in impeccable condition, benefiting from three terraces and two parking places. Close to the Town-hall, on the sea side, it has just been acquired for 450,000 € by a family from Lille. As for apartments, those near the ocean are naturally highly-prized, as demonstrated by a 2-bedroomed apartment of 73 m2 which sold for 360,000 €, and a 1-bedroomed apartment with a terrace of 50 m2 which just found a taker at 280,000 €. On the front row, prices are inevitably rising. An apartment of 84 m2 has just changed hands at 655,000 €.