Pyrénées Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques Panorama: Where mountains touch the sky, Atlantic waves kiss the shore, and Basque culture paints a vibrant tapestry.
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Holiday home by the sea
A view of beautiful French Basque country (Pays Basque known from the beret) is what you’ll see if you take a trip in a ULM (small airplane) from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Fishermen once left this port for Newfoundland, Canada, Greenland and Spitsbergen. Fishing is still important industry. Join in the tuna festival in July. On the Place Louis XIV you can see the house where the Sun king lived when he married Marie-Thérèse. In Ravel’s place of birth,Ciboure, are a prison and court from the time of the French Revolution. Biarritz has many beautiful old buildings such as the palace the wife of Napoleon III had built. Enjoy ham and chocolate in Bayonne. Other typicial Basque specialties are piperade and marmitako. There are several places where you can enjoy pintxo with a glass of Madiran.
Nature in Pyrénées Atlantiques
In the green hills are towns with typical Basque red and white houses with a wall for playing the Basque game of pelota. For instance Sare, Ainhoa and spa town Camo-les-Bai above the river Nive, where the author of the play Cyrano de Bergerac lived. The area produces a lot of cherries. Espelette is mainly known for its red pepper ‘piment d’Espelette’. You can see this local product hanging to dry from the houses. On the route of Santiago de Compostela is Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, which in the past belonged to the province of Navarra in Spain.
Activities in Pyrénées Atlantiques
The Béarn region, homeland of the musketeers Athos and Aramis, is excellent for walking, cycling and horse riding. From your holiday home you can visit the Aspe valley, Vallée d’Ossau and Col d’Aubisque. The beautiful town of Pau is is luscious green with its many parks. Gave d’Oloron is a great spot for fishing for salmon and trout.