There are two Biarritzes. The one of palaces and Second Empire villas, born when Empress Eugénie dragged Napoleon III and half of Europe's courts here. And the one of Volkswagen vans and boards underarm, born in 1957 when an American screenwriter shooting "The Sun Also Rises" discovered that the waves of the Côte des Basques matched California's. Seventy years on, the two coexist — and that mix is exactly why we come back every year.

Biarritz in one full day

Start with the Grande Plage at daybreak, when the first surfers paddle out facing the Art déco casino. Follow the coast to the Rocher de la Vierge — the metal footbridge is by Eiffel, the foam explodes below, and the view runs from Spain to the Landes. Continue past the fishermen's port and its crampottes (fishing huts turned eateries), then the market halls: Bayonne ham sliced to order, Ossau-Iraty cheese with black cherry jam, and a still-warm cream gâteau basque.

The afternoon belongs to the Côte des Basques: the cradle-beach of European surfing, where the schools line up their foam boards. A beginner's lesson costs €40–50, wetsuit included, and frankly: it is the best souvenir you can take home from here. The session ends, as ritual demands, watching the sunset from the cliff terraces with La Rhune as a backdrop.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the discreet elegant

Fifteen minutes by train, Saint-Jean-de-Luz wraps one of France's most beautiful bays between its sea walls. Here Louis XIV married the Spanish infanta in 1660 — the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, with its three-storey oak galleries and gilded altarpiece, is the Basque Country's most spectacular. Rue Gambetta lines up Basque linen, hand-sewn espadrilles and macarons from Maison Adam (supplier to the royal wedding, no less). The sheltered beach is perfect for families — the water is calmer than Biarritz's.

Inland: Espelette, Ainhoa, La Rhune

Rent a car for a day (or take bus 45) and head into the hinterland:

  • Espelette and its façades draped with garlands of red peppers drying in the sun — the AOP pepper comes home as powder, jelly, everything.
  • Ainhoa, a single street of red-and-white 17th-century houses, listed among France's most beautiful villages.
  • La Rhune (905 m): the 1924 rack railway climbs in 35 minutes to a panorama embracing ocean, Landes and Pyrenees — with pottok wild ponies and vultures as the welcome committee. Book online in summer (~€24 return).

The editors' tip: September is THE Basque Country month, and it is not even debatable — ocean at 22°C, steady swell for surfers, golden light, villages returned to their inhabitants and hotels 30–40% cheaper than August. If your dates are flexible, don't think twice.

The budget question

Let's be honest: the Basque coast is expensive in summer — expect €150–250 a night in Biarritz proper on the seafront. The workarounds: sleep in Anglet (huge beaches, surf vibe, 30% cheaper, buses every 10 minutes) or Bayonne (the South-West's most underrated historic centre, 8 minutes by train). And off-season, prices melt by half. Our selected addresses are on the Biarritz page.

At the table, to finish

The Basque Country is eaten as much as visited: veal axoa with Espelette pepper, chipirons a la plancha, line-caught hake from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, taloa (the festival corn flatbread) — and on the sweet side, the eternal duel between cream and black-cherry gâteau basque. Our official position: both, in that order.