Biarritz is a large beachside town on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in south-west France. It is known for the Hôtel du Palais, built for the Empress Eugénie around 1855, its casinos, and its surfing culture.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Biarritz is very pedestrianised, and it is easy to get around the town centre, to the beaches, and to the best spots for surfing or shopping. This means whatever your holiday needs is a short and pleasant walking distance away. However, it can be quite hilly in places. There is an excellent bus network called Chronoplus ([2] for timetables and routes), serving Biarritz as well as the neighbouring Anglet and Bayonne (which form a conurbation called 'BAB'). Bus journeys are a flat €1 payable in cash on the bus.
Biarritz is famous for its coast and the rocks in the sea. There is the church of Sainte Eugenie, a Russian Orthodox church, and the Museum of the Sea (entrance about €6) with a lot of interesting animals like different kinds of fish, anemones, sharks, and seals in aquariums. Other topics include fishing in the last centuries, birds, catching whales. Then there is a Museum of Asian Art and a lighthouse (entrance €2).
The beaches are excellent and this is a major surf resort. The main beach, Grand Plage, gets very crowded, but there is also a long surfers' beach on the Boulevard du Prince de Galles, called Cote de Basque, that has almost no sand at high tide, but is superb at low tide. The surf beaches at Anglet are easily accessible by bus, and surfboards that aren't too big are allowed on the local buses in the summer at least. There is a small beach by the Esplanade du Porte Vieux that is good for swimming when the surfer's beach is closed. There are several thalasso-therapy centers, with sea water, seaweed and related treatments. Thermes Marins, Rue de Madrid.
1 Santosha Biarritz, 12 Av. de Verdun. Pan Asian (updated Feb 2023) 2 Pitaya Thaï Street Food, 9 Av. du Maréchal Foch. (updated Feb 2023) 3 Los Tacos Chingones, 10 Av. de la Gare. (updated Feb 2023) 4 Bombom, 1 Pl. de la Chapelle. (updated Feb 2023) 5 L'Euphrate, 38 Av. des Dauphins. (updated Feb 2023) 6 Pizzeria des Arceaux, 20-24 avenue Édouard-VII, ☏ +33 5 59 24 11 47. The pizzas are very good, as is the fish and the large desserts. (updated Feb 2023) 7 Auberge 22, 22 Rue Harispe. French cuisine (updated Feb 2023) 8 L'Entre Deux, 5 Av. du Maréchal Foch. French cuisine (updated Feb 2023) 9 La Table Basque, 4 av de Marne, ☏ +33 5 59 22 23 52.
There are several places to go clubbing in Biarritz. One example is a great club called Le Copa located in the centre of the town. At the same place you can find many bars, as a pub crawl night is a must if you visit Biarritz. Another good club is the one under the Casino, and the best thing of all is that it is for free and does not close at two or three o'clock like the bars do.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Biarritz typically sees ~25°C daytime highs and 18 rainy days.
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