After the already very southern experience at the Dune du Pilat, we quickly move on to the southern border region of France to Spain. We have chosen the region around Biarritz as our next destination, because here lay particularly beautiful and famous beaches of France. Biarritz is almost the surf town of France par excellence.

Town of Biarritz

The core of Biarritz is not that big. We imagined the town to be bigger. The center is formed by a few shopping and restaurant streets. Everything can be reached very easily and quickly by foot. There is for example a traditional market in Biarritz which we visit first.

Halles de Biarritz

The market hall in Biarritz is divided into two parts. The larger market hall is reserved for all fresh food except fish. The second, at least half the size, is reserved for fresh fish and seafood from the region. Thus, we clearly recognize the proximity to the sea and the resulting professions and eating habits.
The stalls are colorful and offer all kinds of things. The special feature of these market halls in Biarritz is that many of the market stalls, in addition to the classic raw goods, are designed to offer ready-prepared food to take away. So, everything from coffee and cakes to hearty ham with potatoes, onions and cheese can be sampled right on the spot. For us, the visual visit is enough, and we continue walking through the center of Biarritz.

Beach promenade of Biarritz

After only a few hundred meters of walking we arrive at the coast of Biarritz. There is a promenade along the shore around the small promontory that establishes Biarritz. It feels like half of Biarritz is on this walk – as we are. We pass the beach of the old port – today a sandy beach in the middle of the village with the apt name Plage du Port Vieux. Then there are various viewpoints along the rocky coast until we finally reach the large, long sandy beach of Biarritz. Particularly famous here is the mini-island of Rocher de la Vierge with the statue of the Virgin Mary, which used to ensure the safe return of fishermen. The island can be reached via the Passerelle de la Vierge. The pedestrian bridge was constructed at that time by Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel Tower).
On our walk we can also observe the typical waves for Biarritz and their surfers. As we are walking, a whole surf class just paddled from the beach of the old harbor around the rocky coast to the main beach of Biarritz, the Grande Plage. With that we always had an additional exciting observation subject on our walk.

Palace Hotel Biarritz

In addition to the town of Biarritz itself, with its many quaint cafes, bars and restaurants, there is also a magnificent palace hotel from the last century. This building is still in use today as a 5-star hotel and underlines the long touristic past of Biarritz. Of course, Biarritz is not only a surfing mecca.
The magnificent hotel reminds us a bit of the lakeside promenade in Lucerne.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

The small town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, about 14km south of Biarritz is considered its little sister. So, on our way south, we stop in Saint-Jean-de-Luz to make a direct comparison.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz seems very down-to-earth and downright sleepy during the off-season in winter. Where in Biarritz still a lot was going on in December, many people on the streets and neat visitors in the restaurants Saint-Jean-de-Luz seems virtually fallen into hibernation. Saint-Jean-de-Luz is located more in a bay and has a beautiful sandy beach along the entire length of the village. The town center is much smaller and the townscape is dominated by vacation homes. Perhaps this village is more the French alternative to the city of Biarritz, which is dominated by international tourism? In direct comparison, we liked Biarritz much better at this time of year.

Now we are only a few minutes away from Spain by car. From now on, the temperatures should hopefully finally get a bit warmer and more Mediterranean – even in December! We are looking forward to it and will continue to report what we experience on our trip.