I recently did a one week holiday on the Atlantic coast in Basque, southern France. I visited the two towns (Basque: Miarritze) and (Basque: Baiona), and went to the wedding of my dear friends Xavier and Severine. My sister and I flew with Ryanair to Biarritz.
Ryanair is by the way flying to from Stansted (London), Hahn (Frankfurt), Shannon and Dublin, and cheap tickets are often available. Air France has about 10 flights a day to Biarritz from two airports in Paris. Flights are also available from Rennes, Nice, Geneve and Clermont-Ferrand.
Interrailers can get to Biarritz and Bayonne with the TGV trains (the French high-speed train).
The main reason for why I am writing this blog entry, is that I tried to find information about Biarritz and Bayonne in travelling guides in a few bookshops downtown Oslo. I must have looked in about 10 guides, and there were just a few lines about both of these two towns.
I also visited three bookshops when I was there, and didn t find any really good traveling guide in English from that area. It s a little bit strange, cause there were lots of foreign tourists. And for a good reason, Biarritz is the no.
1 surfing spot in Europe! But perhaps that is also the best . The people are real friendly, but their English skills one of the worst ones in Europe.
People seem to be mainly speaking French and Spanish, and many also speak Euskara (Basque). Even going out for dinner was mostly a problem, as most of the restaurants only had their menus in French. Luckily, we were five Norwegians staying together in Biarritz and Bayonne before the wedding, and one of us, Sigrid, was fluent in French.
Geir, a long time friend of mine, just came down for the wedding. I got three great new friends during this holiday, Sigrid, Torfinn and Trond Vidar. I hope that we can manage to stay in touch.
Let me start with a little bit of history, and perhaps something that connects this area with Norway. Vikings settled in the area in 840. I later learned that Biarritz comes from Bjarnihus ( House of Bjarni ).
Back in the 12th century Biarritz was a small farming and fishing village, with hunting on whales. The hunting was important for Biarritz up to mid 17th century, the whalers then had to go all the way to Newfoundland to find the whales. Biarritz became a famous seaside resort in the 19th century, Napoleon III in 1854 established his imperial summer residence there (today: Hotel du Palais).
For about 15 years Napoleon took care of the town, building roads, baths and hotels. After the fall of Napoleon and the empire, Biarritz became a place for kings of Würtenberg, Belgium and Portugal, princes from Poland and Rumania, great dukes of Russia, the English gentry, and the French and Spanish aristocracy. Back then Biarritz had about 10,000 holidaymakers a season!
The Russian even built an orthodox church. The Casino (opened 1901) is a perfect illustration of the town s architectural heritage (in the distance you can also see Hotel du Palais):
A few facts about Biarritz are in place. The town is located 18 km from the border of Spain, in the province of French Basque Country.
Biarritz has a population of about 30,000 people. All though Biarritz being an expensive town, it s not only a place for the snobs . The town has focused on sporting activities, and especially and .
The golf course opened already in 1888, and is the continent s oldest. The biggest surfing event is the annual Biarritz Surf Festival, which takes place at the beach La Côte des Basques. Sadly, we didn t see anyone playing when we were in Biarritz or Boyonne, neither did I find any shops selling the equipment.
Biarritz is also hosting congresses and international festivals. There is in fact several cheap two stars hotels, just like hotel we chose ( ):
The main beach in Biarritz is called the Grande Plage , and it offers one of the best surfing spots in Europe and Biarritz is therefore annually hosting international surfing competitions. Sadly the waves were missing out when we were there, and I was only able to do some .
There s got to be a first time for everything. Well, it went well, and I was capable of riding 30-40m on the small waves that we had. And what a fun
We, my sister and I, did a few walks in Biarritz.
A must see is the famous virgin s rock (Rocher de la Vierge), a rock with a virgin statue on top of it. The tunnel on the rock was already built by Napoleon III and the iron birdge was done by Eiffel in 1881.
In the same area as the rock, you will also find the with aquariums with sea fish, seals and small sharks, all species that can be found in the Biscay bay.
The best time to visit this museum is either around 10.30 or 17.00, when the seals are being fed in their big tank.
The second day of our stay in Biarritz, Torfinn was turning 35, something that was a great excuse for a celebration. The evening started with a visit to one of the restaurants at the Fisherman Warf. A small port which receives fishing boats and pleasure crafts.
The port was built in the 1870s with imperial funds after work on the Port du Refuge was abandoned. It s really one of the most picturesque and colorful places in Biarritz. A few seafood restaurants and fashionable tapas bars are located in small fishermen s houses that in French are called crampottes :
After having had a great tasting dinner, we went to the cocktail bar Ventilo Caffe and ended the evening at the Playboy nightclub.
The hip Ventilo Caffe is frequented by friendly 30 something’s, a big part of them surfers. The place plays an excellent selection of house music mixed with old favourites.
The church behind the crampottes on the picture above is Saint Eugénie.
The church got it s name after Eugénie de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon III.
As the others were sunbathing on the beach, I took a walk to the lighthouse in Biarritz. The lighthouse was built in 1834, boats 248 steps, stands 73m above sea level and is surrounded with a beautiful park.
It offers one of the best views over the Basque coastline. The best view over the Basque country can be seen from the mountain (905m), located 10kms from Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
On the third day we all left for Bayonne, a quite different town, not only in architecture.
It s located on the riverbanks of Nive and Adour, and not directly on the coastline. It also doesn t have the same pulsating nightlife found in Biarritz. The Nive divides Bayonne into Grand Bayonne and Petit Bayonne, with five bridges between the two.
The river Nive is more like a main street, with the many restaurants, squares and the covered market that can be found on the riverbanks. The houses next to Nive are great examples of typical Basque architecture, with half-timbering and shutters in the national colours of red and green.
Bayonne is a noticeable bigger town then Biarritz, and has a population of approximately 45,000 people.
Bayonne is the capital (both administrative, religious, judical and economical) of the region. Viking settlements were also found here, and they called the area for Björhamn, which became Baionam and then finally Baiona . The town later also took part in the whale hunting.
The inhabitants of both towns are hooked on the number 64! I guess I ve lost you already . The post numbers of the towns of Biarritz, Anglet and Bayonne all starts with 64 (64200, 64600 and 64100), and the number plates on the cars end with it:
And they are making a fortune out of it!
Cloths shops have opened in each of the towns selling cloths with no. 64 on them. Of course, I had to buy a T-shirt!
The number represents the area code for Pyrénées-Atlantiques, so I guess there are several more of these shops. I was later told that they guy behind the concept, started a shop in Biarritz, selling clothes with the mark BTZ (BiarriTZ) and later changed it to 64.
In the Basque area of France it s not about soccer.
Hell no, in Basque men are real men and play rugby (American readers: Rugby is American football, but without all the fancy protection!), and both Biarritz and Bayonne have teams in the , and . When we were there, Biarritz was on the fourth place and Bayonne on the very bottom with 0 points.
In Bayonne I found a great Rugby clothes shop, called , and I ended up buying a rugby in the colours of Bayonne.
Another thing that both people from Bayonne and Biarritz are known for, is that they both claim to have the world s best chocolate! I am not sure that either one of them is right ( Mjelkesjokolade is of course the best chocolate you can get), but let us pretend that it is Bayonne.
I visited both the Puyodebat Chocolatier Museum and their shop. Both the shop and the museum had a marvellous smell. In the window of the shop, you can see a fountain of chocolate.
I preferred visiting the shop over the museum, as it has a far bigger selection of chocolate. The chocolate is made on a small business scale using the finest kinds of cocoa beans. The art of making chocolate came to area in the 16th century, with Jews fleeing the inquisition in Spain and Portugal.
In the time of writing this, there are 11 chocolatier houses left in Bayonne. And what did I buy? Cocoa pods filled with hazelnut cream.
Delicious. Make sure to not miss the museum on your way to the cathedral. Also Biarritz has it s .
Europe s cacao capital isn t Brussels or Geneva, reckons Taras Grescoe. It s the Basque city of Bayonne, where they still serve chocolate the old-fashioned way: bitter, spicy and in a cup
As mentioned, Bayonne is the religious capital of the Basque region. The reason is Gothic Sainte-Marie Cathedral.
The cathedral was constructed in the period 1213 to 1544. The south tower was completed in the 16th century but the cathedral was completed in the 19th century with the north tower. The cathedral is noted for its charming cloisters.
The cathedral was built the cathedrals in Soissons and Reims as models. Bayonne, with it s cathedral, is listed as world heritage by UNESCO.
Living next door to the botanic garden in Oslo, I am often walking through on my way home from work.
When out travelling, I am often looking for parks or areas where I can run. The first morning in Bayonne I went out running, and more or less instantly came across a beautiful park. Bayonne has a few beautiful botanic gardens, and one of them was located near by the hotel we stayed at.
The garden between the Vauban ramparts and the cathedral offers a surprising botanic variety.
The garden covers the complete surface of one of the complete surface of one of the bastions making it resemble a hanging garden, floating over the town whilst separated from it by 7m high ramparts. It is laid out in Japanese style, with a small pond, bridge, footbridge and waterfall.
Some thing that is special for Bayonne is their bullfighting traditions. Sadly the season ended the weekend before we arrived, but I did run up to the stadium in the morning the second day in Bayonne:
I was told that the bullfighting is following the same rituals as in Spain, that the bull fighting season is composed in four ferias : The first one takes place in Vic-Fezensac, the second on in Mont-de-Marsan, the third one in Bayonne and last one in Dax. Bayonne has the longest tradition of bullfighting in France.
In Bayonne the second feria is a major part of the five-day Fêtes de Bayonne, which starts on the first Wednesday of August and attracts people from across the Basque Country and beyond.
The second day of the wedding we had a bigger lunch at the local bullfighters club. A few big bullheads were hanging on the wall in the main room, and in the second room you could enjoy several paintings.
In the main room we also found a picture of Xavier s grandfather, it turns out that he was once a bullfighter.
The last day was spent walking in the streets of Petit Bayonne, doing a little bit of shopping. Both my sister and I found Biarritz and Bayonne to be rather expensive, and that come from Norwegians.
Having said that, we didn t find any of the international chain stores in the centres of the towns, making shopping rather an exciting experience. Our walk through the town wasn t just about that sweater/those shoes being cheaper or more expensive then in Norway. And the fashion is a bit different.
The Basque region is known for producing high-quality craftsmanship, examples berets, rope-soled sandals and solid damask linen-cotton cloths in bright striped colours (often the colours of the Basque flag: Red, white and green).
When you are in the Basque region you simply must enter one of the many gastronomy (delicatessen) shops carrying regional specialties, mostly home-prepared preserves. Specialties are red pepper, strong spicy black sausages, uncooked ham, conserve of pork, duck or goose, wood-pigeon and the Basque cake.
A few words must also be said about the Bayonne ham. This exceptional ham is cured with the salt of the river Adour salt beds and enjoys a climate that is especially propitious for maturing ham, with it s alternating Pyrenean mountain and sea air. The maturing process must at least last for 7 months.
You know you have found genuine Bayonne ham, when you see that the rind has been branded with the Lauburu (Basque cross). We ate lots of great Bayonne ham at the wedding, but I also ate lightly pan-fried Bayonne ham with deep-fried eggs at one of Bayonne s many lunch restaurants. The Basque region also produces quality red, rosé and white wine.
I have again been out traveling, and what a travel it was. I will make a summary of my trip to Biarritz and Bayonne this weekend, I just would just like to thank for the way they handled the situation on Stansted airport Thuesday evening. Cause of the enhanced security the last month, people have been queing up in front of the security check.
Appearently lots of people don t pay attention to what have been written in the media, nor all the all over the airport about what you are allowed to bring with you on the plane as hand luggage. Last Thuesday the que was horrible long. We stood more then 1,5 hours in the que, and would have lost our flight home to Norway with 5 minutes.
Thankfully Norwegian.no had decided to wait for all it s passengers, as 47 of them didn t manage to check in in time. The last couple only managed arrive the gate and the plane as late as 1,5 hours after scheduled departure!
Ryanair and EasyJet appearently had another policy, and that was to only wait an extra 20 minutes, which must have ment that a lot of passengers were left behind. I heard that the chaos got complete when we boarded the airplane, as airplanes that landed were not capable to get to the terminals, as no gates were free. yesterday wrote that the owner of airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted have cancelled about 2,000 flights during August as new security measures were ordered.
The problems seem to have not been solved by now. I can only recommend that people try to not travel through one of London s airports when traveling to destinations across Europe.
All in all, I am just happy to have arrived home safely.
Elderly ladies getting angry for the plane not leaving after they have gotten inside, should be ashamed of themselves. Sadly we were not allowed to use aircondition while waiting for the passengers, nor were Norwegian allowed to open their bar to server water, softdrink or alcohol. It got extremely hot in the cabin.
But these are just minor issues. Think of all the ones that had to buy new plane tickets and find themselves a hotel room for the night!
When Steinar and I were visiting Budapest this summer, Steinar bought the best travelling guide I have seen for Budapest so far and I have seen a few!
It s the .
has managed to build up a of travellers reading their travel guides and comming with suggestions for improvements and corrections to parts that are outdated. And for a big city as Budapest, there will always be things in travel guides that are outdated.
As the authors of the guide have a focus on how you can get to Budapest cheaply, I started the e-mail with some information about the new commercial airport by Balaton, and the two flights has from Stansted and Hahn to this new airport.
If you are visiting Budapest, you must visit one of the many coffee houses in the city. New of this year is that has opened.
More then worth a visit if you ask me.
The third tips I came with, was about having moved away from the State Opera House. It was a really nice cafe and I was frequently visiting it before going to the Opera.
Great coffee and German newspapers. It was also a place where many backpackers met. A true loss for the area.
I will spend parts of the weekend relaxing and reading through the book, and see if there is more that I can contribute with.
One last thing, a few of the travelling guides are available as for your iPod.
I got a real nice answer from Rough Guides, here is parts of it:
Thank you very much for your email and for your comments and information regarding the Rough Guide to Budapest.
I have passed your email on to the authors of the guide who I m sure will refer to it when preparing the next edition.
Guess I have to buy the next book then, just to check if my name is in it!
Today, I decided to escape the appartment as the temperature outside was forcasted to pass 30 degrees.
I think it was my sister that got me thinking in these circles, as she camped one night at Gressholmen this week. I hadn t been out on the islands just outside of Oslo this year, and went downtown to check the first boat that went out to one of the islands. Which ment that I ended up on .
Hovedøya is the island closest to Oslo, and the boat trip (no. 94) only takes about 5 minutes.
All the small ferries go from Vippetangen quay, and going out on the islands in the weekends mean ques and that it might not be space for you on the first ferry.
But that can a nice wait out in the sun. A retour day ticket is costing 38 NOK. The ferry that I took out to Hovedøya was just about full, but I let most people pass before I took this picture as we arrive the island:
Just as you have left the habour area you will get to a monastery ruin.
Hovedøya is home to the ruins of a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1147 by Philippus and his 12 monks. They came from Kirkestead in England. The monastery got through the years hold of 443 farms.
This was probably the main reason why it got burnt and pulled down in 1532 by høvedsmann Gyldenstierne of Akershus. All the land then got transferred to the crown. The rocks was used to build the fortress of Akershus.
Hovedøya is a well used recreation area for the inhabitants of Oslo, ideal for a picnic and for walks. And that is also what Lillebjørn Nilsen was singing: Så gikk vi land en deilig sommernatt i land på Hovedøen . Just look at the pictures in this blog entry and the pictures that I have published on my and you will understand why.
Be sure to take a leisurely walk inland to see the abundance of rare plants and flowers in this protected area.
Two sets of canons were placed out in 1808 to protect Oslo, and were part of the fortress of Akershus. Also three buildings were built to store gun powder for the canons.
But I have not not found any information about the canons actually having been used in war purposes.
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