Financial Times - Hot property: five homes for cyclists in Europe

From an Alpine apartment close to the Tour de France’s 21 hairpin bends to a country house in Girona, Spain’s cycling mecca.

   30 August 2025

Villa, Deià, Mallorca, €3.59mn

What A three-bedroom detached house with a pool, overlooking the Unesco-protected cove of Cala Deià.

Where A a 45-minute drive to Palma and the airport.

Why The Balearic island is popular among pro pelotons and amateur clubs, especially in the spring, thanks to mild temperatures and varied terrain — from the rolling hills around Selva up into the 90km-long Tramuntana mountain range, and the flat coastal paths around Palma and the island’s south.

Who Knight Frank

Apartment, Alpe d’Huez, France, €895,000

What A three-bedroom apartment with mountain views in a building with an indoor pool, sauna, workspaces and children’s play area.

Where The village is in France’s western Alps, a one hour and 15 minute drive to Grenoble airport and one hour 45 minutes to Lyon airport.

Why Test yourself on the infamous local climb, whose 21 hairpin bends feature often in the Tour de France and are a favourite for cycle simulators around the world.

Who Alpine Property Finders

Vallonga, Dolomites, Italy, €1.1mn

What A remote one-bedroom mountain lodge in the middle of a 1.5-acre meadow.

Where The village of Vallonga in the Dolomites’ Fassa Valley is two hours and 30 minutes by car from Venice airport.

Why A short ride to the Sella Ronda loop, one of the world’s most celebrated circuits; the nearby passes of Pordoi, Fedaia and San Pellegrino often feature on the Giro d’Italia.

Who Sotheby's International Realty Italy

Villa, Possanco, Portugal, €1.49mn

What A detached four-bedroom, two-bathroom villa on a 5,000 sq ft plot with a pool and large garden.

Where The village of Possanco is within walking distance from Comporta and the tidal Sado Estuary, and one hour 15 minutes’ drive from Lisbon airport.

Why Portugal’s southwestern Vicentina coast, which joins Lisbon to the Algarve, includes more than 1,000km of gravel and mountain bike routes and a 530km road route from Lisbon to Faro.

Who Fine & Country

Estate, Girona, Spain, €2.795mn

What An eight-bedroom country house, on a 22-acre plot. Includes its own staff house, a 10-vehicle underground garage and a 2-acre garden.

Where In the hills outside San Gregori, a 15-minute drive from Girona and the airport.

Why Near the steep climbs of the Pyrenees and the rolling coastal roads of Costa Brava, Girona is widely considered Spain’s cycling mecca (and is a foodie hotspot, too). A base for Lance Armstrong in the 1990s, and many pro and ex-pro cyclists today.

Who Lucas Fox

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