Biarritz, France is located in the South Western part of France on the Atlantic Coast. It is located in the Pyrenees Atlantique department. Biarritz is also located in the Basque region so there were many signs and symbols in Basque. Basque, unlike Catalan, bears no resemblance to either Spanish or French as a language, which you might expect because its region is sandwiched in between Spain and France. Although we saw many signs in Basque throughout the region, we heard very little, or possibly, none spoken on the street.
Biarritz is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers. Biarritz also has some of the best beaches in Europe and has won multiple awards for their top class standards. We found Biarritz to be nice and pleasant but a little too upscale. It reminded me a little of Santa Barbara. Of course it looks nice and feels nice but in the end it wasn’t a place I’d go back again and again to. Of course the beach looked great and the waves were big, a huge plus for me, and even in the poor weather there were surfers out on the waves.
You can see very large homes on the rolling hills of the town. A variety of architectural styles adorn those hills. There is a lot of shopping that can be done, but much of it is very expensive due to the nature of its guests and residents, and that means very expensive for those of us living in Europe largely on dollars. There seems to be a wide variety of restaurants. Due to the poor weather we didn’t walk around as much as we wold have. We went to many of the nearby towns and even to Spain.
If the weather is good there are a lot of things you can do in Biarritz
- the Asiatica Museum, which houses a significant collection of Asian art primarily from India, Nepal, Tibet, and China.
- The Museum of the Sea has 24 aquariums with sharks and seals
- The annual Biarritz Surf Festival on the beach at the Côte des Basques (the premier surf event in Europe)
- St-Martin’s Church, constructed in the 12th century, and restored in the middle of the 16th century.
- The Russian Orthodox Church in Biarritz, constructed in the 19th century for visiting Russian aristocrats, with its famous blue dome.
- The Chapelle Imperiale built for Empress Eugenie, which has an intricately decorated roof interior, and elegant wall tiling.
- A Museum of Chocolate, which explains its history and manufacture.
- Two large Casinos, the Barriere and the Bellevue, on the waterfront by the Grande Plage
- Also large bluffs surround the beach and offer beautiful views
- The lighthouse overloking the ocean is a must see as well
I’m glad we went as we have always wanted to go to Biarritz, but I doubt a return trip is coming soon. The nearby towns of Bayonne, St Jean de Luz, and the city of San Sebastian in Spain were much more our style. Posts about those towns are coming up next. Pictures of the whole trip will be found in the Photo Dump on Sunday rather than in the individual posts.
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I still want to go anyway. I’ll just wait until I win the lottery. Also, the chocolate museum will be a must for me. I am forever on chocolate education vacations. Can’t really imagine any other kind…
In this sunny weathered image, it looks all that – Biarritz.
I’ve never been to Biarritz and will most likely never go, it just isn’t my thing. I wonder if the rich still go there or if it’s all just jerks who save every penny they can get their hands on to show off for a couple of days.
I think eveyone who visits France should go, I would just caution someone to put it in an appropriate order on their paces to visit list. I love going to the ocean and swimming in the water with big waves, for that reason alone it is worth it. If you want a more tranquil environment you should definitely go to the Mediterranean. It is also an older city. The young go to the beach but the old dominate the cultural landscape, so it depends on what you are looking for. The architecture of the city looked decidedly less “French” to me. It was beautiful but something other than what I was expecting. I think I saw the most swanky BMW dealership I have ever seen in my life there. It was the ground floor of a luxury resort located right on the ocean, well on a bluff overlooking the ocean, quite impressive, but gives you a sense of what the place is like.
Welcome back Owen, yes I found Biarritz to be very grand…but I enjoyed picturing it from when it was in its heyday. Can’t wait to read what you thought of and did in San Sebastien, I loved my stay there (I too had crap weather though). Did you make it round to the Bilbao?
oops, I meant the Gehry AT Bilbao!
Biarritz was very grand and I am glad I went but it wasn’t my cup of tea. We weren’t even planning on going to San Sebastian because we thought we’d just spend 3 days on the beach in Biarritz. Since it rained the whole time we went to San Sebastian. We loved it, my post is almost done.
Hmm. I remember a May trip to Biarritz when it rained the whole time. I loved it! An excuse to stay in the bedroom with my lover of the époque!
Of course that could have been romantic, but come on, you have to admit, we have had our fair share of rainy weather this spring, but then again maybe you like this soup we’ve been living in. One reason for our trip was to escape it and go to the beach. Not to mention I think we both got sick as a result and our time in Bordeauz was limited due to my illness and now Jean-Jacques is sick on his birthday too. Boo Hoo for us.
I always look forwards to go back to Biarritz, I love it there!
I would love ot go back when the weather is better for the beach, when do ou think that will be, 2013?