Biarritz – Introduction

Biarritz, in the South of France along the Atlantic ocean, is a very special place to visit. It has been special for over a century and half, as you can see from the who-is-who of celebrities that have and still do visit. Biarritz is part of the Basque country, so much of its culture is based on the Spanish/French Basque traditions.

In the past, people like the Eugenie de Montijo (last Empress of France and wife of Napoleon III and the person who made Biarritz famous), Russian Tsar, Empress Elisabeth (aka Sissi) of Austria, French writer Victor Hugo, British Queen Victoria, British King Edward VII, Spanish King Alfonso XIII, King Oskar II from Sweden, King Leopoldo from Belgium, many film stars (like Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Jane Mansfield ), sports stars, fashion icons (like Coco Chanel), musicians (like Frank Sinatra), writers (like Ernest Hemingway), artists (like Pablo Picasso) and even politicians (like Winston Churchill) and gangsters.

Today, they are still coming, with names like film/TV stars Jody Foster, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Karl Lagerfeld (fashion), Kylie Minogue (singer), Alain Prost (sports), Jacques Chirac (former President of France) and many more.

As you can guess from the visitors, Biarritz is a very luxurious seaside resort which is crammed with charm, scenic places and romantic hideaways. It’s a perfect holiday spot or just a getaway destination for a weekend.

There are two casinos, the one in the photo above is the Barriere casino. Both are located alongside the beach. The beach shown in the above map is the Big Beach (“La Grande Plage“).

One of the most famous buildings in Biarritz is the Hotel du Palais, originally built by Napoleon III’s wife, the Empress Eugenie, around the year 1855. In those days it was called the Villa Eugenie.

Now it’s a luxury hotel and spa with over 150 rooms! It even included in the past a private chapel which can now be visited since it’s no longer on the hotel ground.

Imperial Chapel

The sea and it’s many beaches (there are 6 beaches) dominate the Biarritz landscape. The reason so many A-list celebrities came here was for the sea (mild water temperature) and the different spas that were installed here.

The coastline is wild and ragged! A lot of large boulder rocks and cliffs can be found along the coastline.

Rocher du Vierge chapel

One of the more interesting rocks is the “Rocher du Vierge” (The Virgin’s Rock“). Getting to it requires you to walk on a small iron bridge (which was rumoured to have been built by none other than Gustave Eiffel – the man who made the Eiffel tower in Paris) that brings you to the rock where there is a small chapel:

The rock was transformed into a refuge for sailors by Napoleon III. In 1865, the statue of the Virgin and the cross were added.

Close to this rock you will find a beautiful, art-deco style, museum.

It is the Museum of the Sea (“Musee de la Mer“), known previously as the Biarritz Aquarium. It was built in 1871 by marquis Leopold de Folin. For more information about the museum, click here.

Further up towards the South you can find the Plage du Port (“the Harbour’s Beach“) with its cabins and restaurants.

All alongside the sea, nestled in the cliffs and rocks, you can find several paths and stairs, allowing you to walk very close to the sea:

The fishing harbour, still very much in the state it is was in centuries ago, is a myriad of sea walls, ensuring that one of the frequent storms will not harm the fishing boats.

You can, of course, find several restaurants serving fresh fish in the harbour area. The church you see in the background of the photo above is the Sainte-Eugenie Church:

The construction of the Sainte-Eugenie Church started in 1898 and was finished in 1903. It is a sailor/fishermen’s church.

This city/town forms part of one of the French legs of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route.

Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage routes

A little bit further South you can find this imposing Villa:

It’s the Villa Belza, built in 1880 as a private Villa. But over the decades, and after several fires, the building has become luxury apartments (10 in total), making it the most expensive real estate in Biarritz.

For simplifying the navigation process, let us consider the Sea Museum and Virgin Rock as the middle/central part of Biarritz. If you keep walking South, you will discover another very large beach area:

It’s the Cote des Basque (“the Basque Coast“) stretching towards Spain. You will find several large hotels located in this area.

On the other side of the city is the Northern point of Biarritz which is dominated by another very large beach which is part of the city of Anglet.

This is the “Plage de la Petite Chambre d’Amour” (in English “The Beach of the Little House of Love”) named in the 17th century after two lovers were surprised by the rapid rise of the sea level during high tide.

Lighthouse of the Cap Saint Martin

The photo itself above was taken at the Cap Saint Martin cliff which houses a majestic lighthouse

The 47 meters high lighthouse was built in 1830.

If you visit the cliff, be sure to have a look at the sundial located in front of the lighthouse.

Alongside both North and South cliffs you will find several paths, mostly set in stone, that will bring you either to the beach or take you further along the cliffs.

Surfcity

One thing is sure, you will most probably see surfers. No matter what month of the year, what time of the day, surf is always up.

Biarritz is considered not only the “in” place for surfing, but also one of the best places to surf in Europe. In 1957, the American Peter Viertel (husband of the actress Deborah Kerr) was the first to put a surfboard in the waves at Biarritz. The rest is history.

Biarritz is the home of many international surf championships.

Next to surfing, the Basque game of Pelota is highly poplar, and Biarritz hosts many championships.

Biarritz Street Scene

Biarritz is not only beaches, surfing and gambling. If you stroll into the city more inland (a couple of hundred metres away from the coast) you will find a scenic array of small streets littered with small (but often very expensive) shops, restaurants, boutique hotels and terraces

All the big fashion brands have shops here, but you will also find more “normal” brands.

There is quite a large covered food market in Biarritz. In fact, it consists of two large halls (the furthest one is for fish) with many stalls selling all sorts of food.

Outside the food market you will many restaurants and cafes, all with terraces:

You will find an abundance of restaurants, cafes, bistros and other eating places (and thankfully, not that many fast food places).

When walking this city, you will with no doubt see many beautiful/special buildings. Some modern but most made in the glamour days.

Religion

As you would expect from a large French city (and very close to Spain), there are many churches and other places of religion in Biarritz. Afterall, when royalties and heads of state visit Biarritz, they need to go to a place of worship that is in their country’s tradition.

Apart from the two churches (the Imperial Chapel and the Sainte-Eugenie Church) shown earlier, here are some others:

The above Saint Joseph Church can be found opposite the covered food market.

Synagogue

The Synagogue can be found close to the Hotel du Palais mention in the beginning of this article.

Orthodox Church of Biarritz

The Orthodox Church “de la Protection de la Mere de Dieu et de Saint Alexandre de la Neva” can be found in the Russian area, close to the Hotel du Palais.

Summary

Biarritz is a very special place to visit. It’s steeped in history, it’s very scenic, it offers beautiful walks along the coast or inside the city and if you are into surfing, it’s the best place in Europe.

Certainly, many of the hotels, restaurants and shops cater to the wealthy, but not all. You can find good and affordable places to eat and sleep.

Biarritz is a great place to visit, and we strongly recommend you to do so. You’ll not be disappointed.