Focus on Biarritz

Biarritz started life as a whaling port, and it's sailors sailed across the Atlantic from there home in the notorious Bay of Biscay. Biarritz was made first a popular beach resort back in the times of Napoléon III and his Spanish wife Eugénie, who brought their aristocratic friends with them on chic holidays. Since the sixties the Cote d'Azur has become more and more popular, while Biarritz may seem more low key to some, but there is a lot of elegance and spice in the town with the surfers and Parisians taking over from monarchs and courtiers.

Accommodation is on the whole expensive in Biarritz town and it one good idea taken up by many is to stay in Bayonne and travel the couple of miles into Biarritz.

You'll want to visit the Casino Municipal behind the Grande Plage, and extravagant 1930's building in the centre of town. You can enjoy a wander up the beautiful streets from the casino to the old port in the west. Biarritz may have faded charm, but the sealine is spectacular and beautiful with sandy beaches and crashing surf. The plage du Port-Vieux is considered one of the best beaches as it provides a lot of shelter and a friendly setting. The Rocher de la Vierge is near, which is a rock with a white statue of the Virgin Mary on top. La Grande Plage near the casino is a bigger stretch of sand.

Try these links for Biarritz Holiday ideas:
alternative-aquitaine.com/biarritz.htm
Time Out - Biarritz
Surf Breaks