Biarritz is where surfboards lean against Belle Époque façades — and neither looks out of place. It was in this Atlantic-facing city that Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel chose to open her first couture house in 1915; over 110 years later, Matthieu Blazy hosted his debut Chanel Cruise show here, bringing onlookers Nicole Kidman and Tilda Swinton to its rocky shores.
South of the city’s postcard-immortalised shore, La Grande Plage, the wavey waters off Côte des Basques beach are where surf culture made a splash in Europe. In the 1950s, Californian filmmaker Dick Zanuck arrived to shoot an Ernest Hemingway adaptation with his surf gear in tow. After getting his screenwriter Peter Viertel on board, the sport attracted such local interest that Viertel went on to co-found Europe’s inaugural surf club on the Côte des Basques seafront.
Basque neighbour San Sebastián may wolf down foodie accolades, but joyful dining has long been woven into daily life in Biarritz, a favourite retreat of European aristocracy since the days of Napoleon III. Nostalgia blows through like the often-brisk sea breeze: children dip nets into rockpools, gents in Fedoras linger over a crossword and promenading is a way of life. To stroll with people-watching and purpose, our weekend guide to Biarritz navigates the best-value oysters, exciting contemporary art and a new wave of concept stores.
Friday evening
Just 20 minutes from Biarritz-Parme Airport, the Saint-Charles neighbourhood is so littered with delicious properties that you’ll be Googling ‘What’s French for Rightmove?’ from the taxi. Small wonder that Parisian tastemaker hoteliers Experimental have planted their flag here twice.
The grand dame is Regina Experimental, a Belle Époque beauty from 1907, which recently had a deep-plane facelift of its façade. Here, luxuriate on a squishy pool bed or inside the Susanne Kaufmann spa for face-contouring of your own, then dine at Frenchie, the hotel’s seafront restaurant. It shares DNA with Frenchie siblings in Paris and serves red tuna from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, eight miles up the road, and pasta stuffed with the region’s nutty sheep’s cheese, Ossau-Iraty.
Around the corner, Hôtel Le Garage Biarritz feels a gear shift more playful. Once the carpark for the Rolls-Royces of the Regina’s guests (what a world), it’s a laidback jam of bright colours, gleaming silver bath tubs and a garden that feels like a social club (its DJ-soundtracked Sunday brunches are legendary). Take your first-night dinner on the pool terrace, pairing elite picky bits such as buttery scallops and wild-garlic-infused asparagus with a Biarritz-distilled G&T. Haize Gin smells like freshly torn herbs; smoky Gin Modjo is best with grapefruit tonic.
If the FOMO’s too strong not to venture out, feast on the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet at Le Café de la Grande Plage, the art deco beachside brasserie inside Casino Barrière (Fridays only; €49 a person). Keeping it in the Saint-Charles ’hood, Restaurant Freya pairs natural wines with a veggie-focused tasting menu of market produce, sea samphire and tingly ferments.
Saturday morning
Get your first-morning bearings of Biarritz atop the 248 steps of nearby lighthouse, Phare de Biarritz. On a clear day, from the top, the peaks of the Spanish Pyrenees buffer a panorama of the entire city. (The lighthouse isn’t wheelchair-accessible, but the views from the Elizabeth II esplanade at its base don’t disappoint.)
Head into town via l’Avenue de l’Impératrice, a street lined with such extravagant mansions that no amount of soothing sea air can make you feel anything other than residentially inferior. Thankfully, the rainbow-curated vintage fashion at Yvonne raises spirits for a fraction of the price of a beach house. Another spot to file under soul-enriching is Yeüz Slice & Coffee. This speciality coffee shop sells sourdough pizza slices, and staff roll leftover dough into warm and gooey cinnamon buns — best eaten while promenading along La Grande Plage (the main beach), a throwback to analogue beach holidays. Still hungry? Head to Rue Gambetta for Le Saleya’s excellent three-course prix-fixe menu, which includes an air-light mousse with chocolate from Basque bean-to-bar purveyors, Monsieur Txokola.
Saturday afternoon
With many shops closed on Sundays, Saturday is the time to quench a retail thirst. On the fourth Saturday of each month, the Basque coast’s biggest flea market, Les Puces de Quintaou, unfurls stalls of linen, ceramics and antiques under the pine trees in neighbouring town Anglet.
Otherwise, stay close to Rue Gambetta, the city’s charming shopping hub. Harold et Maude stocks giddily high-end vintage, from Chanel to Hermès. The three neighbouring Madame, Monsieur boutiques are a concept-store masterclass: there’s equal appeal for men and women, plus its own line of merch for souvenirs. Magasin Central throws tableware into the mix; Open Me sells unique gems such as embroidered vests and animal-shaped vases; and Graine offers a serotonin shot of colour-pop beachwear. Fadead is where fashion editors buy vintage Levi’s.
Foodies, meanwhile, will feel weak of knee and light in wallet inside Maison Arostéguy, a 150-year-old, family-run deli specialising in Basque pâtés, tinned fish and fiery, pickled piparra peppers. Amo Biarritz whips up deli-counter sandwiches alongside a photogenic edit of picnic goods. For a caffeine hit, Café Loky is espresso-sized but mighty of bean. And good luck resisting the scent of fresh bakes from Okindegia bakery — you’ll be compelled to duck in for a warm loaf spread with creamy French butter.
Go from low-key eats to highbrow tastes at London gallerist Lucy Chadwick’s Champ Lacombe. It became the city’s first contemporary-art gallery when it opened in 2021 and has a wildly diverse portfolio, showcasing the inflatables of Italian plastics sculptor Franco Mazzucchelli, the sombre sketches of Norbert Schwontkowski and the multidisciplinary works of DJ and artist Christelle Oyiri. Afterwards, dissect your opinions on Bar Jean’s terrace, which has been a perennially bustling joint since the 1930s; or at hip L’Artnoa wine bar, loved as much for its passionate staff as its epic list and on-street sipping stools.
Saturday evening
While Michelin-starry-eyed diners refresh L’Impertinent’s homepage to see when the lauded fish restaurant reopens after renovation, tonight’s question is: are you going out or out-out? We have two options for you.
One, stay in town and hope for a terrace table at Jack the Cockerel. Overlooking La Grande Plage, it takes the city’s most prestigious location, then sheds all the pomp — serving ‘porn food’ (their words) like smash burgers and mac and cheese to a Shazam-worthy playlist. From 10pm, Centro Bar’s DJs mix Afro-Caribbean, disco, house and French-Caribbean Shatta music. If you’re high on life and have the stamina, Opiom Club opens at midnight.
Your second option is to head back to the lighthouse’s alfresco Pavillon du Phare bar (open from April to 31 October, weather permitting). It’s a no-reservation, sprawl-on-the-lawn affair, where your dining experience is enhanced by a headlining sunset, live guitar and a tray of oysters. Finish with a nightcap at Txapel, Anglet’s cult seafront cocktail club, where mixologists Xavier and Marc shake up secret-recipe concoctions worth the detour alone. Order a croque-monsieur before the 30-minute wander back to your hotel.
Sunday morning
However late your night, catch the beautiful Les Halles food market before it shutters at 2pm. The culinary heart of the city since 1885, it has a spot-hitter stall for every craving: artisan coffee at Lobita Marché, truffle omelette at Balme, €1.50 oysters at L’Écaille or Chez Jérôme.
Then wander towards the city’s main surf beach, Côte des Basques. Check tide times — the beach completely disappears at high tide. You can hire wetsuits and boards of all performance levels at Homie Boards, and Biarritz Surf Guide offers fun, professional lessons in English. Prefer spectator sports? The terrace of Epic Biarritz offers views as humble as its name, plus all-day brunch and juices.
Sunday afternoon
Climb the hill to Bibi Beaurivage, a bobo (bourgeois-bohemian) neighbourhood where locals toss pétanque balls in Jean-Baptiste Lassalle Square and Etxola Bibi cabane was Biarritz’s first-ever beach bar (it remains a cult perch for sundowners over Côte des Basques). Despite a brief closure and panic from regulars, buzzy small-plates restaurant Chéri Bibi reopened to fanfare under the astute nose of local sommelier-chef Charlotte Venot.
Alternatively, hire bikes from Joe Bike and cycle west along the coast. This part of the EuroVelo 1 Atlantic Coast Route takes you to gourmet hub Saint-Jean-de-Luz via the surfing village of Guéthary (around 23 miles one-way). Or loop to Guéthary from Côte des Basques beach, passing Ilbarritz Beach, the nature reserve around Lac du Mouriscot, Erretegia Beach in Bidart and Parlementia: a myth-laden surf spot where two wave systems collide. It’s around a 15-mile round trip; refuel at Guéthary’s Café du Fronton.
Sunday evening
At the fishermen’s port (Le Port des Pêcheurs), former sardine-salting sheds called crampottes now host iconic seafood restaurants like Chez Albert (reservations by phone only) and Casa Juan Pedro. The latter doesn’t accept reservations, so expect an ever-present line of diners semi-salivating from the aromas of the day’s catch on the grill. While you wait, admire Église Sainte-Eugénie, the hilltop neo-Gothic Catholic church with intricate stained-glass windows, that’s sometimes illuminated at night.
Feeling the return-to-work scaries? Le Blue Cargo in Ilbarritz is a hybrid tapas bar, restaurant and beach club that has a reputation for things getting out of hand in the most glorious way. After dinner, it transforms into an open-air dancefloor until 2am, where boogieing on any surface you can find is a given.
Need to know
Transport: Biarritz-Parme Airport is a 20-minute taxi ride from the centre. Biarritz train station is around a 15-minute drive away, with connections to Bordeaux in two hours and Paris Montparnasse in four hours (if you’re arriving on the Eurostar, get Metro Line 4 from Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Montparnasse).
Getting around: Biarritz is small and delightfully walkable, aside from a few hills. The Basque public-transport network is called Txik Txak (pronounced ‘tchic-tchac’), and one ticket works across buses and the electric Tram’Bus. Its website isn’t the most user-friendly, unless you read French, but you can find a helpful overview of routes here (Line 11 runs to and from the airport, for example) or on this network map. Alongside Uber and Bolt taxis, there’s a generally very reliable Basque app called Yuse.
When to go: Biarritz is arguably a year-round destination, with mild winters and swimmable seas from May, depending on your chill threshold. Its population of 25,000 increases four-fold in summer, with 30 per cent visiting from Paris.
What to buy: Maison Adam 1660 macarons are to Biarritz what Ladurée is to Paris. Created for the wedding of King Louis XIV, these chewier, croissant-coloured counterparts are known locally as ‘mouchous’, from the Basque word ‘muxu’ (meaning kiss). Buy some and you’ll also come home with a classic blue-and-white illustrated tin.
Good to know: Opening hours in Biarritz operate to their own beat. For example, the magnificent decorative interior of La Chapelle Impériale, a lavish chapel built at the request of the wife of Napoleon III, can only be visited on Wednesdays, with a reservation. Always triple check timings if there’s a restaurant you have your stomach set on.
See our full collection of hotels in Biarritz. Then discover more of Europe’s best city beach-break destinations, or take a road-trip around more of the Basque Country