Tourist attractions Anglet

The museum (Musee basque et de l’histoire de Bayonne) is located in the Maison Dagourette, a 17C townhouse which is also a historic monument. The up-to-the-minute displays highlight its rich ethnographic collections devoted to Basque culture and life..

The Musee Bonnat was built in 1897 to house the artwork and collection of Bayonne artist Léon Bonnat (1833-1922) who made a fortune painting portraits of the upper classes of his day. The thematically arranged collection (13C-19C) blends different sc..

Arriving in Cambo for a cure in 1900, Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) was immediately won over by the town and decided to move here permanently. He moved into the spacious Labourdes Basque-style Villa Arnaga perched up on a promontory, which the writer ..

Inside this plain and rather severe church, the raised choir is closed off by a beautiful wrought-iron screen, and a glistening gold reredos dating from the 17C. To the right of the main entrance, note the blocked doorway, the custom after a royal ..

From Ciboure harbour, turn right and take Rue du Phare up to the lighthouse, then to the semaphore (on Rue du Sémaphore) to admire the view stretching southwest over the Basque Coast from Cabo Higuer (Cape Fig) in Spain to Biarritz. In the foregrou..

With its twin bays, this cloister (Cloître de la cathédrale Ste-Marie) is a striking 14C Gothic ensemble. There is a fine view of the cathedral and its decorated windows from the south gallery.

The cathedral (Cathédrale Ste-Marie) was built from the 13C to the 16C in the Northern style. Don’t miss the Renaissance stained-glass windows in the nave, the choir and the triforium.

It was Napoleon III's idea to hollow out this stone, which is surround by reef. He also had it joined to the cliff by means of a wooden bridge. Today, it is linked to the coast by a metal footbridge made at the Eiffel workshops. It is inaccessible in..

The purpose of this museum is to present a diversified approach of the marine biotope, related human activities and the privileged bond which has existed for centuries between Biarritz and the ocean. A series of aquariums present the particularly ric..

The chocolatier Andrieu created a didactic course going from the geographical and historical origins chocolate, through all the stages of fabrication to the finished product: composition, coating, moulding, tempering, decorating and packaging. The pl..

The Ainciart-Bergara workshop was founded before the Revolution. Today, craftsmen belonging to the same family continue to produce the famous Basque staffs ( makhilas ) using traditional methods. In addition to the workshop, located next to the pelot..

This is a noble dwelling the façade of which is distinguished by its corner turrets and corbelled construction. Inside the old-Basque style is reflected in the straight run staircase. The manager of the Lohbiague ship probably had no idea of what was..

This fine farmhouse in the Labourd region, built in the 17C by a shipowner, offers an insight into the daily life of a wealthy Basque family. Note the comfortable interior, the straight staircase (as it is on board ship), the kitchen and its bread ov..

This castle, which consisted only of a keep in 1341, gradually became an elegant classical residence. Note the elegant sloping roofs of the two 14C towers. Admire the remarkable suspended spiral staircase of the central tower, dating from the 16C, th..

A row of 17C and 18C houses with overhanging roofs and irregular façades whitewashed the previous summer, colourful shutters, half-timbering and beams decorated with friezes and inscriptions. The huge lorios (porches) still have rings for attaching m..

This Japanese-inspired garden (Jardin botanique) overlooking the ramparts features a thousand varieties of perennials.

The arcades on this pleasant pedestrian street are full of pastry and sweet shops that have a lovely smell of chocolate, an old tradition brought to Bayonne in the 17C by exiled Jews from Spain and Portugal.

Unfaithful wives were once thrown into the river in iron cages from this bridge (Pont Pannecau). Luckily this custom is long past, and now you can simply stroll across it. Don’t miss the half-timbered ‘‘Basque red’’ house at the end of Rue Poissonner..

This square next to Pont Mayou, a bridge spanning the Nive, contains the town hall and theatre and marks the entrance to the old town. The city’s coat of arms and proud motto, ‘‘never sullied’’, are written on the ground.

‘‘Grand Bayonne’’ is the town’s commercial area, whereas ‘‘Petit Bayonne’’ across the Nive river has preserved its working-class atmosphere and narrow streets lined with tall houses. The area is quite lively in the evening when its many bars and bod..