The French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche has just published its by now traditional list of the best cities and towns in France to live in. And it just so happens that among the top ten cities, three are Basque: Biarritz, Bayonne, and Anglet. Moreover, on the list of towns, Guetaria in Labourd takes sixth place.
As can be seen the three Basque cities are situated on the Bay of Biscay (as is logical). But it’s curious that of the top ten cities, two more are found on that body of water: La Rochelle and Lorient.
Nevertheless, we’re of two minds about this recognition.
On the one hand, we’re quite proud that are cities and towns are held in such high esteem for their quality of life.
But on the other, as we frequently comment, this creates a drawing effect that distorts the reality of our country. For example, in the case of the Southern Basque Country, the pressure of tourism, alongside many retirees choosing the Basque Country as their new home and others buying houses to rent to tourists, has created a real estate bubble that has put the price per square meter through the roof. This means that the locals, especially young ones, find that buying a home is outside their means in their own cities and towns.
Given this situation, which can be seen all over our country, society’s ability to respond is quite small: it can’t go far beyond protests or individual actions that can do little to reverse the trend. There are no “market laws;” really, it’s just the “law of the jungle.”
Correcting this problem lies with our institutions: only they can control and correct the wayward trend. If they don’t, we’ll find ourselves “dying of success,” watching as our country becomes a theme park where locals are merely employees serving “customers” and Basque culture loses its soul and becomes commodified.
Of course, banning tourism is not the answer either, but it does need to be more tightly controlled. That way, we can welcome visitors and meet or even exceed their expectations with not only our authentic way of life, but also our high quality of life.
Let’s hope they’re able to do so.
Time Out – 25/2/2025 – Great Britain
The beautiful seaside city with the best quality of life in France
A new study has ranked 500 French towns and cities on their environment, infrastructure, security and services, but this one topped them all
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Le Journal du Dimanche – 16/2/2025 – France
EXCLUSIF – Top 500 des villes et villages où il fait bon vivre : chamboulement en tête du classement 2025
Biarritz, dans les Pyrénées-Atlantiques, s’empare de la première place du palmarès 2025 des villes et villages de France où il fait bon vivre. Du côté des villages, la Normandie décroche la palme grâce à Épron et démontre le dynamisme des petites communes, carburants des territoires.
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Le Journal du Dimanche – 16/2/2025 – France
Découvrez le Top 500 des villes où il fait bon vivre en France en 2025
EXCLUSIF. De Biarritz (1er) à Cannes (39e), en passant par Angers, Annecy et Les Sables d’Olonne, découvrez les 500 villes où il fait bon vivre en 2025. Entre montées spectaculaires et reculs inattendus, ce palmarès annuel dévoile les communes qui tirent leur épingle du jeu… et celles qui déçoivent.
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Last Updated on Feb 28, 2025 by About Basque Country
