The centre of Biarritz

The most well-known address in the Basque country, Biarritz is equally popular for holiday residences and year-round homes. Increasingly lively and up-to-the-minute, its centre offers a life-style unlike any other.

A seaside resort of worldwide renown among fans of surfing, Biarritz stands right on the ocean and unfurls along a series of hills on the Basque Coast. Benefiting from transport links provided by the A63 motorway, a TGV station and the Biarritz-Anglet-Bayonne airport, the commune boasts a charming architectural heritage including many properties in Art Deco style. The lively shopping neighbourhoods at its very heart attract an active clientele looking for apartments or houses within easy walking distance of amenities, good restaurants and trendy bars.

“There is high demand for the neighbourhood of Les Halles,” says Olivier Bregeon of the Agence Globe, based at the heart of this area bustling with activity from early morning with its market and well-known for its restaurants. “Since the end of last year, we have noticed keen interest on the part of people working in Paris and Toulouse, determined to make changes in their lives and thus searching for homes here.” Very popular, the neighbourhoods of Les Halles, Beaurivage and Espagne top the list. Apartments are priced from 4,500 to 6,000 € per sq. metre, especially those in quiet streets around Les Halles. By way of example, Olivier Bregeon mentions an impeccable through apartment with five main rooms, benefiting from a small outdoor area and a garage. On the top floor of a small resid­ence built towards the end of last century in Les Halles, it is the type of property currently sought after as a main home. It is up for sale at 875,000 €. Very rare, houses in good locations do not stay long on the market, as demonstrated by one of 160 m2 requiring renovation, in Beaurivage. With a small garden of 150 m2, it just found a taker at 830,000 €. “In addition to a property’s interior attributes, the main criterion is quietness.”

“The centre can be split into different sectors including, of course, the very highly-prized addresses of Les Halles, Espagne and the area around Parc Mazon, popular for their quality living conditions and the appeal of neighbourhood life,” says Véronique Dessauce who, with her partner, Marc Langla, and their assistant, Marina Paul, recently opened the DL Immobilier agency in Les Halles. Thanks to an excellent address-book - compiled over 12 years of activity in this area -, the agency currently proposes over 60 properties in the centre of Biarritz, both houses and apartments of quality. “Prices are now holding steady and most of the properties in good condition are priced at around 5,000 € per sq. metre if they offer good locations. There is a mixed bag of offerings, though desirable properties sell very quickly,” adds Véronique Dessauce, mentioning, for example, a house to renovate on Rue Vauréal in the Espagne neighbourhood. Proposing living space of 180 m2 and a garden of 300 m2, it just sold for 1,100,000 € on the first visit.