Biarritz
An empress's summer palace on the Grande Plage, the Atlantic surf of the Basque coast, fishing ports to the south, and a runway five kilometres from the beach.
- Arrival
- Biarritz Pays Basque · BIQ
- To the town
- About 5 km to the centre by car
- Private jets
- Business aviation terminal at BIQ
- Best time
- June to July
The city
Surf, villas and the Basque table.
Napoleon III built a villa here for Eugénie in the 1850s, and Biarritz became a summer town. Since 1880 the villa has been a hotel, today the Hôtel du Palais. Below it the Atlantic rolls in, and south of the town the coast runs on past Bidart and Guéthary to Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
June and July are the months to come, when the days reach 22 to 24 °C and the rain eases; August is as warm but wetter. The sea is at its warmest, 21 to 22 °C, from July to September, and the coast stays green all year.
Arriving
One airport, two doors, by the sea.
Biarritz Pays Basque lies in Anglet, about five kilometres from the town, and serves airlines and private jets on the same 2,250-metre runway.
- Barcelona 50 min
- Nice 1 h 15
- Dakar 4 h 55
- Lagos 5 h 40
- Riyadh 6 h 30 long-range jet
When to go
June to July.
The Bay of Biscay keeps the coast mild and green, with rain in every month. June and July are the best balance, with days of 22 to 24 °C and the least rain. The sea warms to 21 or 22 °C from July to September.
- 12° J 135 12°
- 13° F 115 12°
- 14° M 113 12°
- 16° A 126 13°
- 19° M 114 16°
- 22° J 85 19°
- 24° J 62 21°
- 24° A 97 22°
- 23° S 115 21°
- 20° O 128 18°
- 15° N 162 16°
- 12° D 142 14°
What to see and do
Days in and around Biarritz.
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Landmark
The Grande Plage
The main beach below the Palais, open to the Atlantic swell.
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Landmark
Rocher de la Vierge
A rock in the ocean crowned by a statue of the Virgin, reached by a footbridge.
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Landmark
Saint-Jean-de-Luz
A fishing harbour on a sheltered bay, facing Ciboure across the port, south down the coast.
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Golf
Golf de Biarritz Le Phare
Tom and Willie Dunn laid out Le Phare in 1888, and Harry Colt remodelled the course in the 1920s.
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On the water
Côte des Basques
Peter Viertel brought the first boards to this beach in 1957, and about twenty surf schools now teach across Biarritz.
Official site -
Culture
Aquarium de Biarritz
In an Art Deco building opened in 1933, the Musée de la Mer keeps seals in a tank with an underwater gallery and sharks in its Indo Pacific section.
Official site -
Culture
Musée Basque et de l'histoire de Bayonne
Housed since 1924 in the Maison Dagourette on the Nive, its ethnographic collection tells the story of Basque society and of Bayonne as a port.
Official site -
Culture
Villa Arnaga
Edmond Rostand built the villa between 1903 and 1906 after the success of L'Aiglon, and its French and English gardens frame a museum of the playwright.
Official site -
Nature
Petit Train de la Rhune
From the Col de Saint-Ignace, a rack railway of 1924 climbs 4.2 km in about thirty minutes to the summit of La Rhune at 905 metres.
Official site
Where to stay
The palace on the beach.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
Starred tables on the Basque coast.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Ekaitza Two Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Quai Maurice-Ravel, Ciboure
- La Table d'Aurélien Largeau One Michelin star Modern €€€€ Rue Jean-Bart, Biarritz
- Les Frères Ibarboure One Michelin star Modern €€€€ Bidart
- Moulin d'Alotz One Michelin star Vegetarian €€€€ Arcangues
- L'Impertinent One Michelin star Creative €€€ Rue d'Alsace, Biarritz
- Briketenia One Michelin star Modern €€€ Guéthary
- Le Kaïku One Michelin star Modern €€€ Rue de la République, Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Elsewhere in France
More reasons to come.
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Paris
The Louvre, the Left Bank, and the couture houses of the Avenue Montaigne.
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Nice
The pastel façades of Vieux-Nice, and the flower market of the Cours Saleya.
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Monaco (Principality)
A principality of its own on the French border: twenty minutes from Nice by road, seven by helicopter.
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Cannes
The Croisette in festival season, with its own business airport at Mandelieu.
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Saint-Tropez
A former fishing village, best reached by helicopter from Nice.
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Courchevel
Ski-in chalets at 1850, and more Michelin stars than most cities.
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Megève
Horse-drawn sleighs, a medieval square, and Geneva an hour away.
- Bordeaux The wine capital, between the Médoc and Saint-Émilion.
Flying to Biarritz?
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