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St Jean de Luz is a small resort like village in the Southwest of France. It is located in the department Pyrenees Atlantique. It is on the Atlantic coast and in the Basque country. St Jean de Luz is located south of Biarritz but just before crossing the border into Spain.
It is a fishing village and now a famous resort. It is known for its architecture. Many of the houses and buildings are painted white and a certain shade of maroonish red. The red is said to be for the blood of the bulls. The whole region is known for bullfighting. It is also known for the quality of its light. Famous artists have gone there to paint. The Bay has a very soft sand and, if the weather had coorperated, I’m sure it would have been wonderful to go for a swim there. There is a large main street shopping area. In the rain we darted from store to store and even found a store offering soldes, please don’t call the soldes police. The French are only allowed to have sales in stores 2 times per year, see this post for a recap.
If I had closed my eyes and was taken to St Jean de Luz and told to open my eyes, I would not know I was in France. It is a cute coastal town a little on the resort-ish side but not as extravagent as Biarritz. It is much smaller than the other places we visited and had less to do but go to the ocean and shop but I did find a website that told a lot about its activities:
- You can go scuba diving, parasailing, and hang gliding
- You can visit the botannical garden
- There are a few historic homes that you can tour
- There is a Basque museum
I would go back but with the intention of spending the day at the beach. It is located in a small bay so the strong current of the Atlantic Ocean is dampened. I like big waves but for a break it would be nice to spend the afternoon here. I’d like to find out if there is a decent art museum there. If so many artists went there to paint in its famous ight you’d think there would be some museum showing their work. More research to do.
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Oh, man. You’re really making me want to take a trip to France this summer!
I highly recommend it, this whole area offers such variety, Spain France ad all the little towns in between. I had no idea myself.
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