Villa Souraïde sits cocooned in landscaped gardens and surrounded by rolling countryside, a peaceful retreat in the green heart of the Pays Basque. From the outside, the half-timbered house looks perfectly at home in its rural setting, but once inside, Souraïde reveals its immaculate contemporary design, the result of a skilful renovation that has created one of the most impressive properties in the area. With glorious views towards the Pyrénées, plus local shops and a great village restaurant nearby, the position is equally hard to beat.

The villa extends over three levels, centred around a huge, open-plan living/dining/kitchen area. Three of the four bedrooms also occupy the ground floor, whilst the first floor is given over to a superb master suite. We love the thoughtful use of space here, which includes a playroom next to the children’s twin room, and a small upstairs office should you need to work for an hour or two, or perhaps just feel inspired to write by the beauty of the location. It’s hard to resist the pull of the villa’s beautiful, flower-filled gardens however, with a large infinity pool and plenty of seating options for sun and shade.

The entire lower ground floor is best described as a leisure suite, with everything you need to relax with friends and family. From the home cinema to the bar and the pool table, this is a perfect den for grown-ups where you can chat, relax and take a well-deserved break from day-to-day life for a while.

The local area

The nearest local facilities are found three kilometres away in Souraïde, a typically Basque village with basic shops, a couple of hotel restaurants and a nicely uncrowded little golf course. The thermal spa town of Cambo-les-Bains is a ten-minute drive; here you’ll find a good choice of restaurants, shops, tennis courts and spa facilities as well as the Villa Arnanga, the former home of Edmond Rostand, author of Cyrano de Bergerac. The coastal resorts of Biarritz and St-Jean-de-Luz are half an hour in the car.

Days out

Historic Biarritz offers an eclectic combination of sophistication, elegance and surf culture, blessed with magnificent beaches and outstanding golf and spa facilities, plus plenty of family attractions. St-Jean-de-Luz is a fishing-port-turned-holiday-town, known as the gourmet centre for Basque cuisine, with a rich cultural calendar, stylish shops and lovely beaches. A day tour of the Basque villages such as Ascain, Ainhoa, Sare and Espelette makes for a pleasing contrast to the coast; for something different again, don’t miss a trip into Spain and the old town of Hondarrabia or the celebrated cities of San Sebastian, Pamplona and Bilbao, home to the famous Guggenheim museum. Bayonne, capital of the Pays Basque, sits quietly under the tourist radar but rewards visitors with narrow medieval streets and a fine Gothic cathedral, not to mention of course its eponymous jambon. Some of southern Europe’s most majestic mountains are accessible in the Pyrénées National Park, home to countless hiking trails including the famous coast-to-coast GR10. Patience might reward you with the sight of an eagle or a pack of wild horses, and the bird life is rich and varied. Thrill-seekers can get their adrenalin shots white-water rafting, climbing, mountain biking or paragliding.

Explore our pre-bookable experiences in Aquitaine

Our choice of French properties is diverse, ranging from simple charm to genuine luxury and style. Much of our portfolio is privately owned, and price alone is therefore not a universal guide. We contract all our accommodation in person, and each property has its individual appeal.

To help you make the right choice based on your own priorities, we have devised a simple grading guide to be considered in conjunction with each individual property description, awarding up to a maximum of five stars for the below categories.