Biarritz is one of those resorts that seemed to gets discovered and rediscovered. But when a little whaling town starts attracting European royalty and a casino gets built, then forget peace and quiet.
Of course, two world wars intervened, but then came the 50’s and those movie people. The story goes that a writer on the set of The Sun Also Rises, filmed here in 1956, saw the possibilities in the waves and set home to California for his surfboard. That set a trend that never ended, as surfing is a big deal here. And no wonder. The coastline is gorgeous and the Atlantic is just constantly beating against the shore.
The town is lovely, with that extra layer of lusciousness that lots of rich tourists can incite. The 19th century villas are lovely; the modern stuff is dreadful. And the overall effect is quite wonderful.
The Basque influence is quite diluted, with all the other cultures layered on top. We’ve already selected our favorite.
So we had to partake in the resort lifestyle, just to share in the spirit of the place. I can report that a very lovely afternoon was spent at our hotel pool, with great views and great sun. We needed that vitamin D!
You are just north of where I spent my senior year in high school as an exchange student, Hendaye. I went to school in St. Jean de Luz.
Lucky you! We are on this adventure because we didn’t have one of those years. You must have loved it.