The French Basque Country in 4 days
The French Basque Country plays two parts at once: Atlantic rollers at Biarritz and green hills climbing towards La Rhune. You surf in the morning, ride a rack railway in the afternoon and spend the evening in the pintxo bars of Petit Bayonne, with Espelette's chilli-hung façades somewhere in between.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- Morning
Grande Plage, Biarritzfree · half a dayBiarritz's seafront since the Second Empire, facing the Art Deco casino and the Hôtel du Palais, with striped tents for hire by the day.
- Late afternoon
Rocher de la Viergefree · about 45 minA rock reached by an iron footbridge attributed to the Eiffel workshops, topped since 1865 by a white statue of the Virgin watching over sailors.
Day 2
- Morning
Côte des Basquesfree · about 1 h 30Where surfing arrived in France in 1957: a long, gentle wave below the cliffs, ideal for learning on a longboard, with around ten surf schools.
- Afternoon
Old Bayonnefree · half a dayHalf-timbered houses, arcades and chocolate makers around the cathedral, then the Basque Museum and the best pintxo bars across the Nive in Petit Bayonne.
Day 3
- Morning
Espelette villagefree · about 1 hHome of the protected Espelette pepper, its white façades hung with strings of drying red chillies from late summer into autumn.
- Afternoon
Ainhoafree · about 45 minA 13th-century one-street village on the Santiago pilgrim route, lined with some of the best-preserved red and white Labourd houses in the Basque Country.
- Late afternoon
La Rhune rack railwayabout 2 hA wooden rack railway running since 1924, climbing from the Col de Saint-Ignace to the 905-metre summit past ferns, sheep and free-roaming pottok ponies.
Day 4
- Morning
Saint-Jean-de-Luz bayfree · half a dayClosed off by three sea walls begun under Napoleon III, the bay has calm water that is rare on this coast and suits young children.
Where to sleep in the French Basque Country
- Hôtel Marbella · €110 a night
- Hôtel Les Alizés · €95 a night
- Hôtel Palmito · €90 a night
- Hôtel Les Almadies · €150 a night
- Hôtel La Marisa · €160 a night
- Hôtel Maria Christina · €140 a night
- Hôtel du Palais · €600 a night
- Grand Hôtel Thalasso & Spa · €350 a night
- Hôtel de Silhouette · €230 a night
Plan this trip
Hotel prices per room per night, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.