Four Must-visit Iconic Designer Homes To Add To Your Summer Calendar

Spring in Europe has its own particular energy. The light is back, the terraces are open, and the long weekend season officially kicks off. This summer, four iconic designer homes across Spain and France deserve a place on your calendar. Conceived by architects whose work belongs in the history books and set against some of the most spectacular coastlines in Europe, each one is a full sensory experience to live from the inside. Ricardo Bofill's Mediterranean labyrinth in Calpe. Jørn Utzon's intimate cliff retreat in Mallorca. Eileen Gray's revolutionary villa above Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. And a dragon-scaled contemporary masterpiece dissolving into the hillside above Andalusia. Four addresses. Four entirely different encounters with architecture at its most alive.

La Muralla Roja, Calpe, Spain

Ricardo Bofill designed La Muralla Roja in 1973 as a labyrinth of terraces, staircases and pastel-colored volumes stacked against the Costa Blanca cliffs. It looks like a set from a film that doesn't exist yet. The good news is that several apartments inside the complex list on Airbnb, from studios to two-bedroom units, most with direct terrace access and rooftop pool privileges. 

Can Lis, Mallorca, Spain

After Jørn Utzon resigned from the Sydney Opera House in 1966, he retreated to Mallorca and built himself the most beautiful private grief imaginable. Can Lis sits on a cliff near Porto Petro, built entirely from dusty pink local sandstone, its rooms oriented around the sea light at every hour of the day. The House opens every Friday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, May 22 through October 16, with free admission and no reservation required. Capacity is strictly 25 visitors at a time, first-come first-served.

Casa del Acantilado, Salobreña, Spain

GilBartolome Architects built Casa del Acantilado into a 42-degree hillside above the Mediterranean in Salobreña, Andalusia. Its undulating zinc roof mimics dragon scales. Its infinity pool appears to dissolve into the horizon. The BBC selected it as one of the world's most extraordinary homes and Netflix agreed. The entire villa rents as a whole on Airbnb, sleeping up to six guests. Three bedrooms, a 150-square-meter living space, and Mediterranean views in every direction. This is the one you rent for a milestone birthday and never stop talking about.

E-1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France

Eileen Gray was 48 when she began designing E-1027, her first building. She encoded her name and that of her partner Jean Badovici directly into the title: E for Eileen, 10 for Jean as the tenth letter of the alphabet, 2 for Badovici, 7 for Gray. Built between 1926 and 1929 on a cliff above the Mediterranean in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the House is a humanist manifesto. Gray designed the entrance to force you to turn and discover the space gradually, with inscriptions on the walls reading "Entrez lentement" and "Défense de rire." The main living room opens to a long sea-facing balcony, with an ocean-line r quality to the space, every piece of furniture custom-designed by Gray herself, including the iconic Table E-1027 that has since toured design museums worldwide.