Aquitaine, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France

Built in the late 1800s, this delightful country house of 287m² is in a tiny rural farming hamlet not far from the Basque town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Originally built as a farmhouse, the property was modernized and restyled as a family home, although it retains a traditional ramp up to the first floor, which would have been a hayloft.

The enclosed grounds of 1.5 acres (6,105m²) surround the house and there is ample flat land for an in-ground swimming pool (permission required), a summer kitchen, a barbecue area, a children's play area, a boules piste...

A paved terrace adjoins the south-east-facing façade of the house and is the ideal spot for sunny breakfasts, long lazy lunches and moonlit suppers overlooking the surrounding countryside and beyond to the Pyrénées.

From the terrace, French doors open into a vast open-plan main room (110m²) with a wooden spiral staircase, a sitting area with a fireplace and insert, a dining area and a kitchen area with an informal dining area. Adjoining the kitchen area is a second kitchen/utility room with doors out to the garden.

Also on the ground floor is a master bedroom with an en suite bathroom (bath & WC) and a door out to the garden, along with a separate WC.

The spiral staircase in the main room leads up to a huge first-floor mezzanine of 55m². A wooden balcony on the south-east-facing façade is accessible from the mezzanine, as is a south-west-facing ramp, which leads down to the garden.

Adjoining the mezzanine are four light and airy bedrooms: one bedroom with an en suite bathroom (bath & WC) and access to the balcony; a second bedroom with an en suite bathroom (bath & WC); two further bedrooms, each with en suite shower room (shower & WC).

With its own entrance up from the garden, you might like to use the first floor as a separate apartment/gîte, which could be used for long-term rentals or for holidaymakers. A kitchen area could be created in one of the bedrooms or added to the mezzanine.

The property is 10 minutes away from the town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Basse-Navarre province of the French Basque Country. The coastal resorts of Biarritz and St-Jean-de-Luz are about 60 minutes away to the west; the main ski resorts are 30 - 60 minutes away to the east; Spain is 20 minutes away, where you can buy Spanish delicacies (and cheap petrol!) at several ventas on the border.

The inland Basque Country is a true delight - rolling hills dotted with pretty white farmhouses with red or green shutters. The fields are often grazed by sheep, which are milked twice a day - and the milk is then used to make cheese called "brebis". Other famous local delicacies are Bayonne ham, red piments (chilli peppers), Gâteau Basque and dark cherry jam to eat with the brebis cheese!

THE COUNTRY HOUSE

Ground floor:
- a south-east-facing terrace
- a huge open-plan main room: a cosy sitting area with a fireplace and insert, a dining area and a kitchen area with an informal dining area
- a separate kitchen/utility room with access to the garden
- a master bedroom with an en suite bathroom (bath & WC) and access to the garden
- a separate WC

First floor:
- a balcony with mountain views
- a huge landing/mezzanine area with access to the balcony and French doors opening out to stone steps, which lead down to the garden
- a bedroom with an en suite bathroom (bath & WC) and access to the balcony
- another bedroom with an en suite bathroom (bath & WC)
- two further bedrooms, each with an en suite shower room (shower & WC)


THE GROUNDS

- panoramic mountain and countryside views
- grounds of 6,105m² (1.5 acres), perfect for a swimming pool, a summer kitchen, a barbecue area, a children's play area, a boules piste...
- a south-east-facing terrace for outdoor dining
- an outbuilding of 10m², currently used for storing garden furniture and equipment


THE POTENTIAL!

This spacious country house is perfect for a family home. Although in need of some redecorating and updating, the property can be moved into straight away.

For families with children, there is a primary school in a nearby hamlet; for older children there are collège-lycées in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port (10 minutes) and St-Palais (30 minutes).

If you work on the coast, Bayonne is about 55 minutes away; Biarritz airport is 60 minutes away. For anyone who works from home or who would need an office/consulting room, the ground-floor bedroom would be ideal.

The property's proximity to Pyrenean ski resorts, Atlantic beach resorts and to Spain make it ideal for using as a holiday home or for creating a tourism-related business.

With each of the five bedrooms having its own en suite bathroom or shower room, it would be easy to set up a Bed & Breakfast business. Tourists visit the Pays-Basque all year round, with many hoping to find good-quality B&B accommodation in a peaceful location and with wonderful mountain and countryside views.

During the quieter months of the year, you could use the main room for hosting activities for your B&B guests, such as yoga, wellness and mindfulness or masterclasses in painting, photography, music, Basque gastronomy, wine-tasting of the local Irouléguy AOC wines...

You could also offer accommodation to pilgrims who are walking the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, since two pilgrim routes pass quite close by (about 2km). Pilgrims need accommodation all year round - and they will be particularly delighted if you can offer hearty suppers when they arrive, delicious breakfasts and even picnic hampers for lunch, especially if they are full of local Basque and Béarnaise delicacies!

Alternatively, the whole house could be rented out to holidaymakers, especially during the summer months, the skiing season and for Christmas and New Year... and with its own entrance up from the garden, you might like to transform the first floor into a separate apartment/gîte, which could be used for long-term rentals or for holidaymakers. A kitchen area could be created in one of the bedrooms or added to the mezzanine.

This delightful country house has huge potential!


SERVICES & TECHNICAL

Telephone + ADSL (cable available on request)
Double glazing
Electricity (three-phase)
Heating: fireplace with insert + electric radiators
Mains water
Septic tank


THE LOCAL AREA

Located 10 minutes away from the popular tourist town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the property is about 30 - 60 minutes from Pyrénées ski resorts, 60 minutes from Atlantic beach resorts and 20 minutes from Spain.

St-Jean-Pied-de-Port has many amenities, including a swimming pool, a cinema, excellent schools, regular trains to Bayonne and a bus link to St-Palais. As well as food and craft fairs throughout the high season, the town has a large outdoor market every Monday, along with a smaller market for local crafts and food producers every Thursday.

In addition, St-Jean-Pied-de-Port is famous as the main arrival point for pilgrims following the Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle. The town is the final resting place before pilgrims start to climb the steep hills of the Pyrénées - and the "Pied-de-Port" part of the town’s name means the "foot of the pass", which refers to the "Roncevaux Pass", where pilgrims finally cross over into Spain.

Airports: Biarritz, Pau, Tarbes-Lourdes
Train: St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Bayonne
Coach: Biarritz, Bayonne, Pau
Ferry: Bilbao, Santander

Beaches: Biarritz, St-Jean-de-Luz, Hendaye, Hossegor...
Ski: Iraty, Issarbe, La-Pierre-St-Martin, Artouste, Gourette, Val-d’Azun, Somport, Candanchú (Spain)...

Attractions: Le Train de La Rhune, Grottes de Sare, Grottes d'Isturitz et d'Oxocelhaya, Gorges de Kakuetta, Passerelle d’Holzarte, Aqua Béarn, Le Petit Train d’Artouste, Parc'Ours, Chemin-de-St-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Route d'Artagnan...