Biarritz - out and about
Biarritz offers a variety of activities and attractions for
the holiday visitor.
Beaches
Biarritz boasts two enormous beaches – miles of golden
sand caressed, and sometimes pounded, by the Atlantic. The
sea seems to change colour from aquamarine to bright blue
to green and back again throughout the day.
The Grande Plage is the largest and most
fashionable of Biarritz’s beaches, and is overlooked
by the Municipal Casino. To the north it becomes Plage
Miramar. To the south, Plage du Port Vieux
is sheltered by two overhanging cliffs; it is a small family
beach and a local favourite. Plage de la Côte
des Basques is the most exposed, and is best surfing
beach.
Activities
Biarritz is reknown for its reliable surf and
has been hosting world pro events for decades. There are plenty
of surf schools in Biarritz and Anglet, such as Plums Surf School
and Biarritz Paradise Surf School.
Take a look, also, at our Surfing
in Aquitaine page for more details and also our Biarritz
Directory.
The Biarritz Surf Festival and International
Longboard Competition (Surf Festival) is held in July each
year.
There are several golf courses in and around
Biarritz. It is here in the south west where French golf began
and there's now a dozen quality courses. Take a look at our
Golf in Aquitaine
page for more details and also our Biarritz Directory.
Whilst a relatively new pastime in France, golf has been around
in the Basque Country since the 19th century and you won’t
find the course snobbery here that you can experience on the
Côte d’Azur.
Thalassotherapy –
the Greeks and Romans swore by the healing properties of sea
baths, mud and seaweed, steam and massages, hot and cold.
Supposedly great cures for being run-down, anxious, and heavy-legged.
Maybe you want to catch the rugby
while you’re in Biarritz – they regularly feature
in the Heineken Cup, and often spoil the progress of our boys
from Blighty. Biarritz play at the Parc des Sports d’Aguilera,
a huge sports complex also featuring tennis courts and a Basque
pelota court.
Children’s
Tourist Attractions
The best view of the town is from the Phare de Biarritz
(open Sat-Sun 3-7pm), the 240ft lighthouse to the north of
the beach. The 248 steps are worth it for the glorious sight
of golden beaches and the grand Pyrenees.
Visiting La
Rocher de la Vierge can be a great adventure. From
Fisherman’s Wharf on the great bay, you can cross a
bridge to the huge rock with a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Be warned, you may have to fight the wind and spray of the
Atlantic!
In terms of conventional ‘tourist attractions’
there are some visits worth considering:
Biarritz 'Musée de la Mer' Aquarium
(also, across the border, San Sebastian Aquarium).
The Musée de la Mer is a four-storey Art Deco museum
that illustrates the town’s whaling past and includes
a spectacular aquarium. There’s a shark cave, the chance
to see resident seals being fed, and a whole room devoted
to regional birds.
We dare say your kids might enjoy a visit to the Biarritz
Chocolate Museum too!
La Petite Train de la Rhune – funicular train
to the peak of La Rhune (starts at Ascain).
Les Grottes de Betharram – guided tours of
the caves under the Pyrénées.
Shopping
Biarritz’s shops and boutiques are
crammed with fashion names. Wealthy residents and tourists
ensure that the shopping rates amongst the best in France.
The hub of Biarritz is Les Halles, where
the locals meet, greet, trade, gossip, laugh and joke. Enormous
fruit and an amazing array of different fish!
Eating Out
When
you're self-catering, it's part of the holiday to eat out
from time to time. And in Biarritz it's not difficult to eat
well. The town offers a good mix of brasseries, bistros and
more formal dining. There is also a good blend of French,
south western and the more local, Basque, cuisine on offer.
Seafood is, not surprisingly, something of a speciality here.
For
eating out, the beach offers several tiny crêperie cabins
and ice-cream stalls, all of a pretty good standard. The Port
des Pêcheurs is particularly good for tapas
bars.
Over the years, a few venues have emerged as favourites for
clients - and for us! The best recommendations come from the
owners we work with who live in the town - their favourite
restaurants are shown in red.
We hope you find this guide helpful. We've also *highlighted*
the restraurants that specialise in local (Basque or Gascon)
cuisine.
The
list has been compiled with the help of the Lonely Planet
Guide (South West France), The Green Guide (Atlantic
Coast) and the Cadogan Guides – “Bilbao
& The Basque Lands” is the one to buy.
| Budget
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Tikia,
1 Place Ste-Eugenie - meaning "small" in
Basque, Tikia is indeed snug! Nicely decorated to
a nautical theme, it's great for big and tasty snacks
including monster brochettes. |
|
*Bar
Jean*, 5 rue des Halles - the Basque country
is great for tapas and Bar Jean is a fine choice for
sampling authentic food. Near to the covered market
place, Bar Jean is normally very lively and full of
Basque charm right down to its posters of bullfighting
heroes. |
|
*Comme
à la Maison*, 14 avenue de Verdun
- traditional dishes are served in this character
restaurant with its old stone walls, wooden beams
and brocantes. |
|
La
Pizzeria des Arceaux, 20-24
avenue Édouard-VII
- if, like us, you consider a pizza to be compulsory
eating on holiday, then this is an ideal venue to
head to. It has a lively ambience and is popular with
Biarritz's young and fashionable crowd. The desserts
are very large indeed. |
|
Bistrot
des Halles, rue du Centre - popular bistro
in the heart of the town near to the covered market.
Crowded with market stallholders at lunch and again
in the evening with locals and tourists. Great value
fixed menus. |
| Moderate |
|
Chez
Albert,
Port des Pêcheurs - a locals' favourite,
this lively Basque restaurant has a great view of
the fishing port and bistro-style ambience. Great
seafood. |
|
*Le
Bistroye*, 6 rue Jean-Bart - a celebration
of the Basque country. Imposing fireplace, beams and
posters depicting local life of the Basques. Tapas
and local dishes a speciality. |
|
La
Concha, Plage de la Barre next
to the ice-skating rink ("patinoire")
- seafood is a speciality at this modest-looking establishment
near the port at Bayonne/Anglet. |
|
*Le
Surfing*, Plage de la Cote des Basques -
every visit to Biarritz should involve surfing, but
if you don't take to the water, the next best thing
is to soak up some surfing vibes in this lively brasserie.
Fixed price menus and à la carte Basque specialities
are available.The interior is a homage to surfing,
packed full of memorabilia and surfboards. There's
also great views of the surf from the decked terrace.
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La
Tantina de la Playa, Plage
du Centre, Bidart - another surfer destination but
this time in neighbouring Bidart (3 kms down the coast).
Good views of the beaches and glorious surf plus a
pleasant, laid-back atmosphere. |
|
*L'Operne*,
17 avenue Édouard-VII - restaurant with a fine
history of hosting European aristocracy; the building
is one of the oldest in the town. Basque cuisine and
seafood again a speciality. Sea views. |
|
*Le
Clos Basque*,
12
rue Louis Barthou - this authentic Spanish-style
bistro is best left to those who really want to indulge
in country food. Pigs trotters are not for the faint-hearted.
|
| *Chez
de Bonnes Choses*, avenue
Verdun - family-run
restaurant. |
|
*L'Auberge*,
22 rue du Harispe - good introduction to the cuisine
of Gascony - especially if you choose the menu
de terroir. The fragrant terrace is a fine spot
for dining alfresco. Closed for lunch and on Sunday
in offf-season. |
| Bleu
Cargo, Villa
Itsasoan, avenue Il'Barritz
- lovely beachside location at Ilbarritz,
2 kms south of Biarritz town centre. The grilled fish
is superb. |
| La
Plancha, avenue Il'Barritz (next
door to Bleu Cargo) and a similar proposition. |
| Auberge
d'Achtal, Arcangues (small village 5kms into
the countryside). |
| Expensive
|
|
*Café
de Paris*, 5 Place Bellevue - stylish brasserie
specialising in south western cuisine. The crab and
lobster are reputed to be the best in town. |
|
*Campagne
et Gourmandise*, 52 avenue Alan Seeger, Château
de Claire de Lune (a Basque farmhouse a couple of
kms outside the town centre) - worth the trip not
only for the country food (such as pigeon tart and
foie gras) but for the outstanding views of the Pyrénées.
|
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Goulue,
3 rue Etienne Ardoin - classical restaurant in the
character of Belle Epoque Biarritz. Seafood specialities
include baby squid. |
|
Philippe,
30 avenue du Lac Marion - contemporary dining
provided by a protégé of the local legend
Alain Ducasse who has opened a new restaurant inland
at Bidarray. Informal atmosphere, a tight but varied
menu and a good wine list to boot. |
| Michelin
Stars |
|
La
Rotonde, Hôtel
du Palais - luxurious dining is ensured in
the domed dining room of this palatial hotel orginally
built for the Emperess Eugénie by her hubby,
Napoleon III. Great sea views. Strictly special occasion
stuff for most of us! |
|
*Les
Platanes*,
32 avenue Beausoleil - run by Arnaud Daguin, son of
the locally revered André. Don't come here
expecting a long list of choices; the waiter will
tell you what's available, you choose the dish and
the chef does the rest. Lovely old Basque farmhouse
in a quiet corner of town. Foie gras is a speciality
and the the cuisine is resolutely Gascon.
|
| La
Table des Freres Ibarbooure Maricharenia, chemin
de Ttaliena, Guéthary (on the road to St Jean
de Luz) |
Nightlife
The Art Deco Casino Municipal contains a
hall full of 180 fruit machines, a table games room (roulette,
Black Jack), a café giving onto la Grande Plage, as
well as a disco, a show room, and a ballroom!
As well as the casino, there is also a disco at Le
Caveau, which is open until dawn, with a trendy bar
upstairs (4 rue Gambetta).
The Irish Pub (10 Avenue Victor Hugo) is
always lively, and a good place to catch giant screenings
of sporting events - good for big rugby games.
La Santa Maria (Esplanade du Port-Vieux)
gives great views of the Rocher de la Vierge, and the Port
Vieux beach. It is a charming bar carved into a boulder.
La Marine (28 Rue Mazagram) has a young crowd,
and is on a lively street.
Le Surfing, 9 Boulevard Prince des Galles,
offers stunning mountain views from a popular surfers' hang-out.
Red Café, 9 ave du Maréchal
Foch.
Arts
& Culture
The main theatre in Biarritz is the Gare
du Midi, hosting daily shows including plays, rock
concerts and ballet.
21 ave du Maréchal Foch (daily tickets available from
the Tourist Office). There is also a show room at the Casino
de Biarritz, for theatre and dance.
There are frequent international exhibitions in Biarritz (see
Art and Media Festivals in Biarritz).
The tourist information office has leaflets called Kulturaldia
giving details of current activities, and also offers a ticketing
service. Look out for the Classical Music Festival
in the first half of September and the Latin American
Film Festival also normally in September.
Asiatica
(also known as La Musée de l’Art Oriental),
1 Rue Guy Petit, has over 1000 works of art from China, Tibet,
India and Nepal.
Also worth a visit is the Musée de Vieux Biarritz,
Rue Broquelis. Set in a former church, this is a small exhibition
of photos and mementos of Biarritz in earlier times.
For architecture across a wide range of eras,
there are wonderful and eclectic examples of villas in Biarritz.
Art Nouveau, neo-Moorish and Anglo-Norman, it’s all
here. The streets Avenue Edward Vii and Avenue Reine Victoria
are the best places to go villa-spotting. The resort flourished
in the 1920s and 1930s, as can be seen from the Art Deco Casino
Municipal - right on the Grande Plage.
Nature
Parc Florenia (between St-Jean-de-Luz and
Urrugne) is a delightful floral park and woodland, recommended
to visitors who would appreciate botanical gardens.
Excursions
For day trips to explore the region, there’s
a number of other resorts, towns and villages worth visiting.
In the French Basque Country, there's St Jean de Luz,
Bayonne, Bidart & Guethary
and the pretty villages of Sare, Ainhoa,
Ascain and Espelette.
The proximity of Spain is a real bonus. A
day in San Sebastian sampling its beaches, shopping and superb
cuisine is a must. There’s the Guggenheim museum
in the up-and-coming Bilbao, plus the infamous
streets of Pamplona to explore.
For further tourist information about the area beyond Biarritz,
please browse our region guides for La Côte Basque
and Pyrénées.
Travel
advice
Lastly, here’s a few words of travel advice when you’re
holidaying in Biarritz…
Parking is very difficult in July and August especially. There's
a train station in the town served by SNCF with regular connections
to St Jean de Luz and beyond, including Spain.
The main route north-south (RN10) is best avoided in the summer,
particularly on Saturdays. You’ll soon discover the
back roads and miss the worst of the traffic.
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