Bouliac: why this hilltop village draws Bordeaux buyers

From the terrace of Bouliac's church, you can see all of Bordeaux: the bridges, the quays, and on a clear day, all the way to the hills of Entre-deux-Mers. It's this view, more than proximity to the centre, that explains why the village has drawn, in recent years, a clientele that would have searched in the city ten years ago.

Bouliac has kept its village scale: a school, a square, a handful of shops, and a Michelin-starred table whose reputation reaches well beyond the Gironde. But the land itself has changed in character. Manor houses with grounds have been joined by contemporary builds, often facing due west to make the most of the sunset over the city.

The trade-off many families come here for: keeping a real house with a garden, without giving up a direct link to Bordeaux via the Pont François-Mitterrand. The drive takes about twenty minutes off-peak — a figure that weighs as much as the view in the buying decision, and is worth checking again at rush hour before you sign.