Two architect houses with private pools, 400 metres from the beach

Saint-Jean-de-Luz — the most graceful town on the Basque coast

Saint-Jean-de-Luz has a way of winning people over within a day. Its bay is closed by sea walls, which makes the Grande Plage one of the calmest beaches on the Atlantic coast. Behind it, the pedestrian streets of the old town lead to the fishing port, the covered market and the church where Louis XIV married the Infanta Maria Theresa in 1660. The town has kept a strong Basque identity: whitewashed houses with dark timber, pelota courts, a serious food culture and Spain just across the border.

Biarritz is around twenty minutes away, as is Biarritz airport, and San Sebastián around thirty-five. The station has direct TGV trains to Paris. The Chantaco golf course, surf spots and Pyrenean foothills are all close by, and the climate is green and mild all year round.

Two houses, or one

The project is a confidential one: just two semi-detached architect houses, close to the centre in a quiet residential street. Each house has 152 m² of living space and around 180 m² of outdoor space. They can be bought separately, or combined into a single 302 m² property — a rare format for a family that wants space for children, grandparents or guests, or for a buyer who wants to live in one house and let the other.

The architecture takes up the codes of the Basque coast with a contemporary hand: white render, deep timber eaves on black brackets, terracotta tiles, and tall arched openings with full-height shutters onto the garden and pool.

Inside: two living spaces, four suites and a pool

On the ground floor, the main living room opens through arched French windows onto the pool deck and the garden. Upstairs, a second living room under exposed timber beams opens onto a covered terrace among the trees. Each of the four bedrooms has its own shower room. The kitchen is open and fully fitted.

Because the houses are sold at an early stage, buyers can choose their materials and finishes and adapt the layout with the help of the project’s professionals.

A note from Sébastien Salin

New houses with a pool, within walking distance of the beach and the town centre, are close to impossible to find in Saint-Jean-de-Luz: the centre is built up and protected, and almost everything that comes to market is older property needing work. What I like here is the flexibility. A family can take both houses and have 302 m² and eight suites; a buyer can live in one and let the other; or simply buy one and enjoy a lock-up-and-leave house a few minutes’ walk from the sea. As a new build, notary fees are around 2.5–3% instead of 8.5–9%, and you can still choose your finishes.