Basque Coast

On the French Basque Coast, the Atlantic meets the foothills of the Pyrenees. Biarritz’s imperial elegance, the harbour charm of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, surf beaches, Basque villages and a proud culinary culture combine into a coastline where French refinement and Basque identity share the same ocean light.

A former whaling port, Biarritz was only a fishing village when Empress Eugénie chose it for her summer villa in the 1850s; European royalty followed, and the town became one of the great resorts of the Belle Époque. Its Grande Plage, the Rocher de la Vierge and the Art Deco casino still shape the seafront, and in the 1950s it introduced surfing to Europe; surf schools still line its beaches.

To the south, Saint-Jean-de-Luz keeps its fishing harbour and the church where Louis XIV married in 1660. Inland lie Basque villages of white and red half-timbered houses — Espelette, Ainhoa, Sare — with La Rhune above them, and San Sebastián with its celebrated restaurants lies just across the border, half an hour away.

Summer is warm rather than hot, with Atlantic swell, long evenings and the village fêtes. Bayonne’s Fêtes, in late July or early August, are the largest festival of the region. June and September are calmer, with warm sea and fewer visitors. The Atlantic is at its warmest in August and September, and the light on the coast stays soft even in high summer.

Autumn brings the Espelette pepper festival in October, the surf at its best and mushroom and game seasons in the hills. Winter is mild and green, ideal for walking, the thalasso spas and the restaurants of both sides of the border, while big winter swells draw surfers to the coast.

In Biarritz, the Hôtel du Palais, built for the Empress Eugénie in the 1850s, stands directly on the Grande Plage and reopened after a full restoration as part of the Unbound Collection by Hyatt. Across the border in San Sebastián, the Hotel María Cristina, a Luxury Collection Hotel, has faced the Urumea since 1912, and the Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra overlooks La Concha. On Monte Igueldo, Akelarre adds a small hotel to its celebrated restaurant above the sea.

The French and Spanish sides lie less than an hour apart and combine easily in a single stay. LVXE books the María Cristina through Marriott STARS & Luminous — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges the programme attaches to the stay — and advises on and arranges stays at the Hôtel du Palais, the Londres y de Inglaterra and Akelarre.