- RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine, France
- AirportBiarritz (BIQ)
- Best forSurf, food, villages
- Visit2–4 days
The French Basque coast runs from Anglet to Hendaye, where the GR10 begins. It's the obvious add-on to the western Pyrenees, and Biarritz airport makes it an easy gateway.
Biarritz
Once Empress Eugénie's favourite resort, Biarritz is now France's surf capital. Walk from the Grande Plage to the Rocher de la Vierge, visit the Aquarium and Cité de l'Océan, and watch the sunset over the Côte des Basques.
Bayonne
Half-timbered houses painted red and green line the rivers Nive and Adour. Taste Bayonne ham and chocolate, visit the Basque Museum, and if you're here in late July, join the Fêtes de Bayonne in white and red.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the hills
- Saint-Jean-de-Luz: a sheltered bay, a fishing port and the church where Louis XIV married.
- La Rhune: a rack railway to a summit with views over the coast.
- Espelette: houses hung with drying red peppers.
- Ainhoa and Sare: among the most beautiful villages in France.
Getting there
Biarritz is about 1 hour from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and about 1 h 30 from Pau. San Sebastián is 30 minutes across the border.
Stay near Biarritz & the Basque Coast
Compare prices and free-cancellation rates.
Combine with
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
A pink-stone Basque town on the Nive, and the start of the Camino de Santiago's crossing of the Pyrenees.
Read guide →
Camino de Santiago
Cross the Pyrenees on foot like pilgrims since the Middle Ages, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or the Somport pass.
Read guide →Header photo: Photo: Eusebius, CC BY 3.0
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