Perspective Penthouse

Panoramic Penthouse

The centrally-located building offers the best of Biarritz—it’s walkable to the coastline and to the Basque city’s buzzing les Halles and Bibi-Beaurivage districts. Sophisticated and urban, but also 100 percent coastal, its three bedrooms and baths accommodate six guests comfortably, and the top-floor, oceanview perch is serviced by an elevator and air conditioned.

The apartment’s svelte, livable furnishings are subdued and casual, drawing all eyes outdoors. The apartment’s living room, dining room, contemporary kitchen, bedrooms and even baths have balconies or windows, placing the emphasis on the horizon. Interior ornamentation has been kept minimal, with a handful of art pieces joining gauzy draperies when shifts of perspective are desired. The dining room for six to eight is panoramic, with big sliding doors on either side, and the living room with its office nook puts the ocean at eye level.

Around

Set in view of the most iconic sights in Biarritz—the Côte des Basques surf beach, the Phare de Biarritz, the Rhune and the distant Pyrenees Mountains, the apartment offers a central location with easy access to the city’s beaches and urban sites.

The elegant seaside resort city of Biarritz has been welcoming French vacationers, royalty among them, since the 1800s, though it became a renowned surfers’ haven much later, in the mid-1950s. Set near the Spanish border (20+ miles from the apartment), Biarritz’s famed La Côte des Basques beach holds mythical status in the surf world, and the coastline here is ruggedly beautiful, anchored by the sumptuous Villa Belza on an overhanging cliff, with the Pyrenees Mountains occupying the horizon to the south. La Côte des Basques beach is fine for beginners at low tide, but only fit for experts at high tide when the water covers the entire beach and crashes against its massive, rocky outcroppings. Access to the Côtes des Basques beach is via the famed 100 Steps, a winding staircase that’s become an influencers’ dreamscape, and is rightfully picturesque.

Downtown Biarritz offers classic urban living opportunities. The hip Bibi-Beaurivage part of town features a lively commercial area of shops, bars, and restaurants, with the Place de Beaurivage worth a stop and the neighborhood has direct access to one of the top surf spots along the coast. Small cottages that once housed fishermen line the streets, offering a different, more village-like feeling that the center of town. Biarritz’s downtown Les Halles district is home to the city’s overflowing market, open daily until 2pm, and the neighborhood is also known for its shopping outside the renovated market hall. Hit longstanding Café Miremont for a coffee and pastry break, grab your specialty items from espadrilles to local wines to Basque textiles to foie gras at the independent boutiques along Rue Gambetta or the stately avenue du Maréchal Foch, and stick around for the neighborhood’s nightlife, as bars, restaurants and clubs in the area are the place to be for the après dinner crowd.

The classic Phare de Biarritz, visible from the penthouse, dates from 1934 and reaches 40 meters skyward. It’s located just north of the city’s Grande Plage beach at the end of the Pointe de Saint-Martin. There are some picnic spots and a grazzy area around the lighthouse for oceanfront leisure, and climbing the lighthouse offers views back onto the city and the northern community of Anglet nearby. The Grande Plage is a more star-studded than surfers’ beach, bookended by casinos and fancy hotels, and lined with postcard-worthy striped beach tents available to rent for the day. Cafes and pricy boutiques line its promenade, and its beachfront cafes are great spots to see and be seen. Swimmers prefer the Plage du Vieux Port, a smaller, more protected crescent with a waterfront café.

Location

Nearest airport: Biarritz (20 minutes)

Best time to visit

May to September