Biarritz, Espelette and Saint Jean de Luz

It's easy to leave the beautiful San Sebastián when the destination is the no less beautiful Biarritz. Did you know that the French city was one of the models that San Sebastián looked at in the late 19th century when it aspired to become a tourist enclave that would attract vacationers from all over Europe? Don't be surprised to find buildings and houses with a familiar air, or even the same species of trees (tamarisks) as in San Sebastián.

Beauty (and posh) Biarritz

What San Sebastián doesn't have is a lighthouse as tall as the one in Biarritz: it measures 44 meters and is located on a strip of land from which you can enjoy this stretch of coastline. Right there, we'll start our visit: from the heights.

Later, we'll visit the colorful Les Halles market to get a feel for the city's daily life and to come into contact with the greatest things France has to offer: its cheeses, charcuterie products, and bakeries/patisseries. Bon Appétit! Biarritz is many things: the gateway of surfing to Europe in the mid-1950s, one of the pioneers of beach tourism (they started promoting it 200 years ago!) and one of the most desired places to see and be seen. We'll walk along its promenade admiring the sea and its sumptuous hotels.

French Chiles

Espelette would be just another adorable village in southern France (with its cobbled streets and white houses with brightly colored windows) if it weren't for one differentiating fact: in the 16th century, someone brought small peppers from South America and discovered that the climate of the area was ideal for their cultivation. Gradually, Espelette peppers were introduced into Basque-French cuisine, replacing other spices that had to be imported such as paprika or black pepper, and turning the balconies of the village into impromptu drying racks.

Where are we headed? Very simple: to the restaurant where we'll taste delicious French specialties, run for five generations (it was opened in the 17th century!) by the same family, and where we'll discover what makes Espelette peppers so revered.

Pirates of the Cantabric Sea

Protected by a bay, Saint Jean de Luz is a peaceful summer and fishing village, born in the warmth of its fishing port, protected by a beautiful bay, and proud of its wide beach. This is where the Maison Adam pastry shop is located, where, in 1660! they created the famous 'macarons'. Around the same time, a certain Johannès de Suhigaraychipi sailed in the area, a French corsair who captured more than 100 British, Dutch, and Spanish ships, and whose traces can also be followed through the town. We'll also visit the Church of San Juan Bautista, a temple with spectacular polychrome woodwork and miniature ships that remind us of how miracles at sea were once appreciated.