Continuing with our Easter Alps to Atlantic trip …
After Saint-Emilion, we headed south directly to Biarritz by-passing the city of Bordeaux (which we would later visit). The drive down A63 was easier, a lot less twists and turns, and the landscape is flat. This area, Landes is part of an estuary but looks a bit like Florida, for different geological reasons.
The day we arrived, the weather was incredibly warm – every one rushed onto the beach – we suspect that most of the people on the beach were locals as the tourists had not yet descended on this place.
Yoga on the beach sponsored by a local radio station.
Biarritz is a beach town on the Côte Basque, French surfing mecca, resort for royalties since the 1800’s, and only 15 miles from the Spanish border. It is only 50 kilometers from Donostia-San Sebastian where we visited last summer, see here and here.
Our hotel room offered an incredible beach view. We could hear the surf all night.
The colors of the sky and the sea changed quite dramatically during our stay. In front of the hotel is a plaza and a rusty modern sculpture.
It was quiet at night. From a distance, one can see the lighthouse.
The lighthouse – Phare de Biarritz – is dramatic with its sweeping searchlight.
On the waterfront separating the Grand Plage and the Plage du Miramar (not visible) is the Hôtel du Palais (the brightly lit building above), the city’s landmark luxury resort and former royal residence.
A symbol of Biarritz, the Rocher de la Vierge is a rocky outcrop topped with a statue of the Virgin Mary. Reachable via a footbridge built in 1887 by Gustave Eiffel, who is also known to have worked in the capital.
Looking across the Grand Plage late afternoon, the Rocher and footbridge were just visible through the holes and arches in the rocks.
Rock arches.
The above has been predicted to collapse in a few years time.
Surf class
These kayaks came from somewhere, landed on the beach for a while and then paddled back out and left in minutes …
According to the New York Times, this beach town is back in vogue since its popularity peaked in the 1950’s. The newspaper article (here) was published in May 2017 – two months after we visited Biarritz – we were literally ahead of the Times. <wink>
Lots more photos to come …