Biarritz

Three days in Biarritz, with Bayonne and San Sebastián

Three days give you Biarritz plus two neighbours. Day one runs from the Pointe Saint-Martin lighthouse along Grande Plage to the Rocher de la Vierge, ending at Côte des Basques for sunset. Day two is a ten-minute bus ride to Bayonne. Day three goes by train via Hendaye to San Sebastián for pintxos.

Day one, morning. Start at the lighthouse on Pointe Saint-Martin and climb its stairs for the view south along the coast to the Spanish mountains. Walk down past the Hôtel du Palais to Grande Plage, then along the promenade to the little Port des Pêcheurs, where fishermen's huts are cut into the rock.

Day one, midday. Cross the footbridge to the Rocher de la Vierge, visit the Musée de la Mer if the weather turns, and walk up to Les Halles for pintxos at the counters.

Day one, afternoon and evening. Check the tide and head for Côte des Basques, either for a surf lesson at low water or simply to watch. Stay for sunset from the Perspective de la Côte des Basques, the clifftop promenade above the beach, then eat near Port Vieux.

Day two. Take the bus to Bayonne, ten minutes away, for its old town on the Nive, the Gothic Cathédrale Sainte-Marie, chocolate shops and ham sellers. Come back by way of Anglet's beaches, where the swell is bigger and the crowds smaller.

Day three. Ride the train to Hendaye and the Euskotren to San Sebastián, or take a coastal coach. Spend the morning on the Concha bay and the afternoon working your way through the pintxo bars of the Parte Vieja, and be back for a late dinner.

Pintxos at Les Halles, axoa and gâteau basque in Biarritz

Start eating in Biarritz at Les Halles, where the bars around the market serve pintxos from late morning. Basque staples include jambon de Bayonne, axoa veal stew and piperade seasoned with piment d'Espelette, and Ossau-Iraty cheese with Itxassou cherry jam. Miremont on Place Clemenceau serves gâteau basque. Book dinner in July and August.

Basque food is the reason many people come back. Les Halles, the covered market in the centre, is the place to start: fishmongers and cheese stalls inside, and around the outside a ring of small bars that serve pintxos and glasses of wine from late morning, the closest thing in France to a San Sebastián bar crawl.

Learn the staples. Jambon de Bayonne is the region's cured ham, salted and air-dried in the Adour basin. Piment d'Espelette, a mild red pepper from the inland village of the same name, seasons almost everything, especially axoa, a stew of chopped veal with onions and peppers, and piperade, peppers and tomato cooked down with eggs or ham. Squid (chipirons) cooked a la plancha or in their ink, and grilled fish at the Port des Pêcheurs, are the seaside versions. Sheep's milk Ossau-Iraty is served with black cherry jam from Itxassou.

For dessert, gâteau basque comes either filled with pastry cream or with that same cherry jam; the old tea room Miremont, on Place Clemenceau since the 1870s, is the elegant spot for it. Drink Basque cider, or a red from Irouléguy, the small mountain appellation near Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Book dinner in July and August, and expect some places to close midweek in winter.

Surf seasons, rain and the Fêtes de Bayonne

A warm sea, open restaurants and room on the beaches make June and September the months to choose in Biarritz. Summer highs reach 24 to 25C, and November is the wettest month at over 200 mm. Beginners surf best in summer, experienced surfers in September and October, and the Fêtes de Bayonne fill the coast in late July.

The Bay of Biscay climate is mild and wet. Summer highs reach about 24 to 25C with warm nights near 17C, and July is the driest month at about 77 mm. Rain builds through autumn: October brings around 147 mm and November more than 200 mm, the wettest month of the year, though winter rarely gets cold, with January highs of about 12C. Expect showers in any month and pack a light waterproof.

Surf follows the same rhythm. Summer waves are gentle, which suits beginners at Côte des Basques and the schools in Anglet. From September the Atlantic swells grow, the water is still warm after the summer, and experienced surfers have their best weeks into October. Winter storms throw huge waves at the Rocher de la Vierge, a show in themselves from the clifftop.

The calendar mixes culture and fiesta. The Fêtes de Bayonne, five days at the end of July when the whole town dresses in white with red scarves, are a short bus ride away and fill every bed on the coast. September brings Le Temps d'Aimer la Danse, a dance festival with performances across Biarritz, and early autumn the Biarritz Amérique Latine film festival. In January, the FIPADOC documentary festival keeps the town busy off season. June and September give the best balance of warm sea, open restaurants and space on the sand.