Biarritz

[pezza.......]

A friend of mine is trying to organise a trip to the south of France. Can anyone suggest things to do in Biarritz?

[FredPuli]

Biarritz is in Southern France but is not " the South of France" as normally spoken of. It is on the Atlantic coast. Think Cornwall but warmer. So you can surf there and watersports are quite good. There's very little to see. The place is rather shabby,a pale shadow of its former, grand , self ; it was very grand up to about 1914 perhaps but was superceded by the Cote d'Azur ,the " South of France" onnthe Med. Now there you have tons to do ( surfing excepted) and see and it need not be expensive. DO avoid being caught by St Tropez as a base though. It is very remote from Cannes, Nice, Juan-les-Pins and the rest, crowded, a rip-off and inaccessible with no train station and a small local airport laughably distant. If you must, visit it on a boat from Cannes for a day. Anywhere from Cannes to Monaco is fine though. The hinterland is beautiful; you can even go skiing 2 hours inland of Nice as the low Alps meet the sea along there.Well worth a thought.

[Maudlettice]

I cannot point you towards anything specifically to do in Biarritz, but I have spent many a happy day there on the beach. There is plenty to do and see around, St. Jon de Luz, Hendaye Plage, Irun, San Sebastian, Pamplona etc are within easy reach. For those with religous and/or architectural interest there is Loyola (St. Ignatius). However, our best and most interesting adventures were running up and down the dirt tracks and back roads of the Pyrenees to find unmapped and seemingly little known villages (French and Spanish) to explore using Biarritz as a base. Thoroughly recommended!

[pezza.......]

Thanks, it is booked. Doesnt sound a bad place.