Biarritz

Biarritz was a Basque whaling and fishing village until Empress Eugenie, who had known it as a child, persuaded Napoleon III to build a summer palace here in 1854; the villa became the Hotel du Palais and European royalty followed. Surfing arrived in 1957, when the American screenwriter Peter Viertel brought a board while filming The Sun Also Rises nearby and left it behind; the Cote des Basques became the first European surf beach and the town is still the centre of the sport in France. The Rocher de la Vierge, a rock reached by a footbridge attributed to Eiffel's workshop, is the landmark.

What you actually see

• The Rocher de la Vierge - a sea rock reached by an iron footbridge.
• The Cote des Basques - the beach where European surfing started in 1957.
• The Hotel du Palais - Eugenie's villa turned grand hotel on the front.
• The lighthouse - a tower of 248 steps over the Basque coast.

When to go

May to June and September to October; surf is best in autumn when Atlantic swells build, and summer is crowded. The Cote des Basques disappears entirely at high tide.

Honest expectations

Beaches shrink or vanish at high tide, particularly the Cote des Basques. The Atlantic is cold and rips are serious. Summer prices and parking are difficult.

Nearby

Bayonne lies east; Saint-Jean-de-Luz is south.