Biarritz city guide

Things To Do In Biarritz

Atlantic surf town on the Basque coast: an imperial resort that became a surfing capital, with Spain twenty minutes away and the Pyrenees behind it.

Where to stay What it costs

Hostels in the city

9.3

Average, from 1,502 reviews

1957

When surfing arrived in Europe, here

20 min

To the Spanish border

1854

Empress Eugénie built the villa that started the resort

Where surfing landed in Europe

Biarritz was a whaling village until 1854, when Empress Eugénie persuaded Napoleon III to build her a villa on the beach and the European aristocracy followed. The villa is now the Hôtel du Palais and the town kept the promenades and the belle époque frontage.

Surfing arrived in 1957, brought by an American screenwriter working on a film nearby, and the Côte des Basques became the first surf break in Europe. The town has been a surf capital ever since, and the two identities sit together without much friction.

It is properly Basque rather than generically French — the language is on the signs, the food is its own thing, and Bayonne next door is the cultural centre of the French Basque Country.

The Atlantic here is powerful. It is excellent for surfing and genuinely dangerous for casual swimming, with rip currents that catch people out every summer.

Two days, plus whatever the coast and the border get.

Where to stay

A small town strung between beaches, walkable throughout.

Centre and Grande Plage

First-timers

The main beach and the old casino: shops, restaurants and most of the beds.

Côte des Basques

Surfers

South along the cliff: the original surf break, surf schools and a younger crowd.

Saint-Charles and the station

Value

Inland towards Bayonne: cheaper beds, the train line and a bus into the centre.

Anglet

Surf and cheaper

North towards Bayonne: a long run of sand beaches, surf camps and lower prices.

Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 8 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Things to do

Things to do in Biarritz

Learn to surf, or watch people who can. Group lessons run €35 to €50 including board and wetsuit, and the Côte des Basques is where European surfing started in 1957 — it is a long, forgiving beach break at the right tide and the schools cluster there.

Walk the Rocher de la Vierge, a rock stack reached by a footbridge attributed to Eiffel's workshop, with a statue on top and the Atlantic breaking around it. Free.

The Cité de l'Océan and the Aquarium, around €15 to €20 each, cover the ocean and the Bay of Biscay properly.

Walk the cliff path from the Grande Plage south past the Côte des Basques towards Bidart — free, and the best hour here.

Then go to Bayonne, ten minutes by train: the Basque cultural capital, with chocolate makers that have been there since the sixteenth century, cured ham and a Gothic cathedral.

Free things

Free things to do in Biarritz

The beaches are all free, including the Grande Plage and the Côte des Basques.

The cliff path from the centre south towards Bidart is free and runs above the surf for kilometres.

The Rocher de la Vierge and its footbridge cost nothing, and the Atlantic breaking around it in a swell is the best free show in town.

The port des Pêcheurs, a small huddle of fishermen's cottages below the cliff now holding a few restaurants, is free to walk through.

The Halles de Biarritz market is free to browse and is where the town shops, and watching the surf at the Côte des Basques at sunset costs nothing and is what most of Biarritz does.

Food and drink

Eating and drinking in Biarritz

Basque food, which is its own cuisine and one of the best in Europe. Pintxos — the Basque version of tapas, served on bread with a stick — are eaten standing, at €2 to €4 each, and a few of them plus a glass is dinner.

Bayonne ham, cured for months and sliced thin, and piperade, a pepper, tomato and onion dish with egg, are the local staples.

Axoa, a veal and Espelette pepper stew, is the mountain dish, and Espelette itself is a village twenty minutes inland that grows the pepper on the house fronts.

Gâteau basque, a dense almond cake filled with cream or black cherry jam, is the pastry.

A glass of Irouléguy, the local wine, is €4 to €6, and txakoli poured from a height is the Spanish-side equivalent. A beer is €5 to €7.

Nightlife

Going out in Biarritz

Seasonal and surf-shaped. From June to September the bars around the Halles and the port des Pêcheurs are busy every night with a young international crowd, a lot of them on surf trips.

A beer is €5 to €7 and cocktails €10 to €14.

The Basque pattern is a txikiteo — moving between bars for one pintxo and one drink at each rather than settling in one place, and it is how the evening works on both sides of the border.

Bayonne has the bigger nights, particularly during its summer festival, and San Sebastián across the border has the best of all of it.

Out of season the town is very quiet, with a residential population and surfers who go to bed early.

Getting around

Getting around Biarritz

The town is small and walkable, with the main beaches ten to twenty minutes apart on foot along the cliff.

Local buses cost about €1 and connect Biarritz, Anglet and Bayonne, which function as one urban area.

The airport is ten minutes away and the bus into town costs about €1, which is among the cheapest airport transfers in Europe.

Trains run to Bayonne in ten minutes, Saint-Jean-de-Luz in fifteen, Hendaye on the border in about thirty, and Paris in four hours by TGV.

San Sebastián is about forty-five minutes: train to Hendaye, then the Euskotren across the border, all for a few euros.

Costs

What Biarritz costs

Expensive in summer, reasonable outside it. Dorms are €28 to €50 in July and August and €20 to €35 in the shoulder months.

A beer is €5 to €7, pintxos €2 to €4 each, and a day runs €55 to €95.

Anglet, ten minutes north, is noticeably cheaper for beds and has the same beaches.

The beaches, the cliff path and the Rocher de la Vierge are free. A surf lesson at €35 to €50 is the spend worth making.

Crossing into Spain is cheap and San Sebastián, though not cheap itself, makes the trains worth it — the whole journey is a few euros each way.

Safety

Staying safe in Biarritz

The Atlantic is the serious risk here and it should not be underestimated. This coast has powerful surf and strong rip currents, and people drown on it every summer, including strong swimmers.

Swim only on lifeguarded beaches and only between the flags, which mark the patrolled area and are moved daily according to conditions. Outside the summer season most beaches are not patrolled at all.

If you are caught in a rip, do not swim against it. Swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the pull, then come in. Raise an arm and shout if you need help.

Surf lessons matter here more than in gentler places — the schools know the tides and the currents, and going out alone as a beginner is a bad idea.

The cliff paths have unfenced sections and undercut edges. Emergency number is 112.

Day trips from Biarritz

The Basque country on both sides of the border, and the Pyrenees behind.

Bayonne

10 minutes · Train or bus, about €2

The Basque cultural capital: chocolate makers since the sixteenth century, cured ham, a Gothic cathedral and the July festival.

San Sebastián, Spain

45 minutes · Train to Hendaye then Euskotren, a few euros

A shell-shaped bay, the best pintxos in the world by common agreement, and a different country.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

15 minutes · Train, about €3

A sheltered bay safe for swimming, a working fishing port and the church where Louis XIV married.

What's on

What is on while you are there

Bayonne's festival in July puts a hundred thousand people in red and white.

Festival Biarritz Amérique Latine (FBAL)

Staff pick

26 Sep – 2 Oct

Festival Biarritz Amérique Latine (FBAL)

The Biarritz Latin America Film Festival (FBAL) in Biarritz, France, has been celebrating Latin American cinema and culture since 1979. Held across iconic venues…

26 Sep – 2 Oct

Biarritz Latin America Festival

The Biarritz Latin America Festival, a staple since 1979, is a celebration of Latin American cinema featuring competitions for feature films, short films, and…

9–26 October

ATABAL X BCE (Board Culture Exposure)

ATABAL X BCE (Board Culture Exposure) is an opening night event for the OFF segment of the Board Culture Exposure Festival. It combines a…

15 November

Sniper

Sniper is a major French rap group formed in 1997 in Val-d’Oise, known for their socially engaged albums blending city life experiences and social…

20 Jun – 14 Nov

Candlelight: Coldplay & Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons is a Grammy-winning pop-rock band from Las Vegas formed in 2008. Since their award-winning debut studio album, Night Visions was released in…

20 Jun – 16 Dec

Candlelight: A Tribute To Hans Zimmer

Candlelight promises an enchanting musical journey, illuminated by the soft glow of numerous candles. Attendees can look forward to a special tribute concert dedicated…

11 Sep – 5 Oct

Simon Pernin: Noise

Simon Pernin captures the raw energy of live concerts through his 35mm analog photography, focusing on the texture and grain that make each image…

1 October

Puppetmastaz

Puppetmastaz is a quirky collective of terrestrial and extraterrestrial creatures known as the world's first "toy group." Since their debut album in 2002, they…

All events in Biarritz

Hostels

Where to stay in Biarritz

A good surf-camp scene here and in Anglet, with prices spiking in July and August. Live from Hostelworld.

10.0 11

When to go

June and September for surf and space. July and August are packed and expensive.

12°

Jan

Mild and stormy. Big surf for experienced surfers only

13°

Feb

Quiet and wet. Cheapest beds

15°

Mar

Improving. Cold water and empty beaches

16°

Apr

Pleasant. Surf schools reopening

19°

May

Very good. Warm days, cold sea, thin crowds

22°

Jun

Excellent. Everything open and not yet packed

24°

Jul

Peak. Full beaches and Bayonne's festival at the end

25°

Aug

The busiest month. Book everything ahead

23°

Sep

The best month. Warmest water, good swell, crowds gone

20°

Oct

Very good value. Surf picking up and mild

16°

Nov

Wet and windy. Big Atlantic swell

13°

Dec

Mild, stormy and very quiet

Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets: quiet busy peak

Average highs. The Atlantic is cold — a wetsuit is normal here even in August, and the water is at its warmest in September at around 21°C. Autumn and winter bring the biggest swell, which is for experienced surfers only.

What your trip will cost

Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.

These are summer figures — May and October run about a third lower. A surf lesson at €35 to €50 sits in the doing line.

Nights 3

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Beds—
Food and drink—
Getting around—
Doing things—

Biarritz travel questions

The ones we get asked most.

Is it safe to swim?

Only on lifeguarded beaches and only between the flags, which are moved daily according to conditions. This coast has powerful rip currents and people drown here every summer, including strong swimmers. Outside the summer season most beaches are not patrolled at all.

What do I do if I get caught in a rip?

Do not swim against it — you will not win and you will exhaust yourself. Swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the pull, then come in at an angle. Raise an arm and shout if you need help.

Is it good for learning to surf?

Yes, in summer. The Côte des Basques is where European surfing started in 1957 and it is a long forgiving beach break at the right tide. Group lessons are €35 to €50 with board and wetsuit, and taking one matters more here than at a gentler beach because the schools know the tides and currents.

Do I need a wetsuit?

Yes, almost always. The Atlantic here is cold — it peaks at around 21°C in September, and a wetsuit is normal even in August. Surf schools include one in the lesson price.

Can I get to Spain easily?

Very. Train to Hendaye then the Euskotren across the border gets you to San Sebastián in about forty-five minutes for a few euros, and it has the best pintxos anywhere. It is an easy day.

Is it expensive?

In July and August, yes — dorms €28 to €50 and everything booked out. Anglet, ten minutes north, has the same beaches and cheaper beds. May, June, September and October give you the place at about a third less.

When is the surf best?

September to November for consistent swell, though autumn and winter waves are for experienced surfers. Summer is smaller and much better for learning. September is the sweet spot: warmest water, good waves, and the crowds gone.

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