GREAT DESTINATIONS ❘ THE PYRENEES


army officers, as well as France’s first rugby club, dating back to 1902. Every year, Pau stages two Grand Prix: one is a motor sports event featuring a street circuit around the city’s public roads; the other is a famous steeplechase horse race at the Hippodrome du Pont-Long.


From top: Crowds turn out in force for the Fêtes de


Bayonne; Argelès-sur-Mer offers Mediterranean beach life at its


best; the Rocher du Basta bridge at Biarritz beach


Carry on west along the A64 autoroute and you will soon find yourself in the French Basque Country (Pays basque français, in French, or Iparralde, in Basque). It’s the westernmost section, formerly known as Labourd, that is most famous. Here you’ll find vast sand dunes bombarded by big surfable waves, and fishing villages-turned-tourist traps. There’s the ultra-chic coastal city of Biarritz, full of five-star hotels, with a casino, spas, jewellery and fashion shops and lots of upmarket bars. Just to the north is the cool surf town of Anglet; to the south there’s the thriving holiday resort of Saint-Jean-de-Luz; and slightly inland, you’ll find the distinctly Basque


“HERE YOU’LL FIND VAST SAND DUNES BOMBARDED BY BIG SURFABLE WAVES, AND FISHING VILLAGES-TURNED- TOURIST TRAPS”


town of Bayonne. Bayonne certainly knows how to party, and it’s here that our Pyrenean odyssey finishes with a bang. At the end of your road trip, be sure to immerse yourself in Basque culture. Listen carefully and you’ll hear people speaking the language in the streets; you’ll notice that there’s separatist graffiti on the walls, games of pelota in the frontons, and plenty of Bayonne ham and Espelette chilli.


END WITH A PARTY


If possible, aim to arrive in time for the annual Fêtes de Bayonne. Staged at the height of summer (July 27 to 31 this year) this five-day festival attracts close to a million visitors, all dressed in white clothing with red neckerchiefs and belts, and all ready to party hard. Featuring bullfights and a running of the bulls – like in Pamplona, only on a smaller scale, and much safer – it claims to be France’s biggest festival, and one that members of the French Basque diaspora do their utmost to attend. Once the sun goes down, and the flow of alcohol increases, the party gets raucous. After five days of festivities, it’s just as well all your driving will be complete. FT


118 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Aug/Sep 2022


IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK, BRUNO CHANET


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