The Infanta Cristina has made a 180-degree turn in her life in recent months. She has left behind her former job after definitively severing ties with the Aga Khan Foundation and has swapped her life in Geneva for a new home in Barcelona. This last decision, in particular, brings the sister of Felipe VI closer again to her former married life. The infanta has moved into the same block she shared with her ex-husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, where they raised their four children.
This nostalgic move, which even includes re-employing the staff from her time at the Pedralbes palace, is not the only development on the horizon for Cristina de Borbón. The daughter of the emeritus kings will revive another important family tradition this summer with her visit during the summer to a place that for her blends bittersweet memories: her flat in Bidart, a lovely town in the French Basque Country.
Silvia Taulés confirms this in Vanitatis, assuring that Infanta Cristina will travel there in the coming weeks, but with a ‘different stay’. Her intention, as she has done in recent years, is to spend a few days in Bidart with her children and their partners. This summer, however, it is expected that her vacation will be shorter in order to devote more time to being with her mother, Queen Sofia.
Echoes of Iñaki Urdangarin’s controversial memoirs, the publication adds, have contributed to straining the relationship between him and Infanta Cristina. Therefore it is unlikely they will coincide in Bidart, as they tried to do last year. It was in August 2025 when they both visited the coastal town with their children, but they coordinated their schedules so as not to have to share uncomfortable moments in the apartment that once belonged to both.
This is the disputed apartment in Bidart
Bidart has always been a very special place for the Urdangarins, as they usually spend all their summers there, and some other holidays such as Christmas and Easter. And when Infanta Cristina married the former handball player, this town between Biarritz and Guéthary also became her favorite summer retreat with her children. Its beaches were also the place where the first images of Iñaki Urdangarin with his new partner, Ainhoa Armentia, were captured.
Iñaki Urdangarin and Infanta Cristina, in Bidart during the summer of 2013.
Having become a key piece in the divorce of Cristina de Borbón and Iñaki Urdangarin, after their definitive separation was made official, the infanta remained the owner of this dwelling. That said, she allowed its use by her ex-husband, with whom she continues to share the expenses arising from it. A decision that underscored that for her, the well-being of her children remains the top priority.
The Infanta Cristina’s apartment in Bidart is a property of around 100 square meters, designed mainly as a functional and modest vacation retreat. Acquired at the time as a second residence, it has a terrace with a small garden and sea views. It is located in an exclusive development very close to the beach and also has a garage and a communal pool.
The link between the Urdangarins and the Borbons
The Bidart apartment that the former Dukes of Palma share has also become the point where the Urdangarin and Borbón families converge. It happens that one of Infanta Cristina’s ex-sisters-in-law has an apartment in the same development, so encounters with her past seem inevitable.
It is also in Bidart where Cristina de Borbón maintains contact with her former mother-in-law, Claire Liebaert. Despite her divorce, the infanta continues to maintain an excellent relationship with the mother of Iñaki Urdangarin. The matriarch of the clan, who resides in Vitoria, also has an apartment in Bidart and continues to go there whenever she can.
