Several "Must Sees" in the Basque Country
French Basque Country
Biarritz
Situated in the very southwest of France, Biarritz became famous in the 19th century when Empress Eugenie (the wife of Napoleon III) fell in love with this part of the Basque country and built a Palace on the beach (which is now the world class Hotel du Palais) and a centre with natural springs at Eugenie les Bains.
The beach resort became popular with aristocracy from all over Europe - Queen Victoria came here regularly over a period of 30 years, Edward VI stayed in the Hotel du Palais days before his death and in the 1930s Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson were regular visitors. Until the revolution in 1917 the Russian nobility wintered here and built the magnificent Orthodox Church next to the Palace.
However, the days of being reserved for high society are long gone and today Biarritz, with a year-round population of 27,000 that swells to about 150,000 in the height of summer, is an affordable, vibrant and cosmopolitan town with magnificent beaches.
The town has good sporting facilities including some excellent golf courses, imported by the British during the aristocratic days, and the best surfing in Europe. The French say that if Ile de Re (further north off the Atlantic Coast) is France’s Nantucket Island, then Biarritz is its Southern California.
The city has the casual elegance of a chic beach resort, intertwined with the practical mindset of the Basque people.
As with much of the rest of France, food reigns supreme, particularly based on the “fruits de mer” (fruit of the sea) – its seafood.
St. Jean de Luz
Easily one of the most attractive cities in the Basque Country, from its cozy beach to its alluring downtown, Saint Jean de Luz is a jewel in the region. This pretty, small beach city is just dripping with charm, from its port lined with colorful boats to its boutique shops selling designer goods as well as surfing gear and offering surfing lessons year-round.
Saint Jean de Luz, situated on a protected bay, is the first major town heading from Spain into France. While Bayonne, its more populated neighbor, is charming in its own right, Saint Jean de Luz is as clean as a crisp, white French table linen. The delightful squares, quaint pedestrian shopping area and the covered market all merit visits.
Bayonne
Bayonne has been an important strategic city in this part of France since the 12th century and is now the capital of the French part of the Pays Basques. This city of 43,000 has a medieval feel to it, with fortified walls and sits astride the Nive and the Adour Rivers that run out to the ocean a few kilometers away.
The rivers divide the city into two sections, Grand Bayonne and Petit Bayonne, each with its own character. The Nive river itself acts as a sort of a main street with cafes, restaurants, shops and covered markets along its shore. The houses in the old city reflect the architecture of the region, and so is a fun walking town with cobblestone streets.
Today the city is known for several things, including that it is the birthplace of chocolate in France, imported by Jews from Portugal fleeing the Inquisition about 500 years ago (they still make amazing chocolates and the hot chocolate is worth savoring); it was here that the military bayonet was invented in an armament factory nearby; today the city is famous for its Bayonne hams, as highly regarded as Parma ham is in Italy; and it is the site of the largest jazz festival in Europe, hosting 250,000 people annually in July.
Spanish Basque Country
San Sebastian
About 25 miles south of the French border in Spain is the seaside city of San Sebastian, which probably has the greatest concentration of wonderful food and restaurants on the planet. From three star Michelin restaurants to friendly tapas bars, San Sebastian has it all for a food lover.
But why?
As a rule, the French are a more reserved than Americans, liking order in their lives with nice homes, steady savings into a pension, and a love of food, whether in a restaurant or, more likely, cooked at home.
By contrast, the Basque Spanish tend to live life more on a carefree, day-to-day basis. They don’t invest in real estate; rather they tend to live in tiny apartments and live their whole lives outdoors: on front stoops, in bars, restaurants, in parks and on playing fields. Generally, what you see on the outside – their clothes, their cars, and how they mingle with others in the streets – is what you get with the Basque Spanish. Nothing reserved about them and they are a whole lot of fun!
And so when you set foot in San Sebastian, essentially you come to a vibrant “beachy” city of 200,000 where all the action is outside on the streets. You can feel the electricity as residents pour their heart and soul into living.
All of which leads me to the food. Since the Basque Spanish don’t cook at home much, they dine out a lot. And because of this they revere good food, whether in a simple tapas bar or in a Michelin rated restaurant.
And of course the shopping isn’t too shabby either, whether in the old quarter, with its boutiques or in the centre of the city, with its name brand outlets; the better to show off to their neighbors.
Pamplona
Whether you call it Pamplona, the town founded by the Roman general Pompey in 75 BC or by its older name Iruna, which simply means “the city” in Basque, it is the capitol of Navarra the largest of the Spanish Basque provinces. It is often referred to as “the Gateway of Spain” as it sits up on a very fertile plain rising 1,400 feet overlooking the Arga River and surrounding valley.
An ancient city of the Basques, it was repeatedly captured by different groups, but none of its conquerors held it for very long. Pamplona remained the capitol of Navarre until 1512, when Ferdinand V united the major part of Navarre with Castile. Wounded fighting for Castile was a certain Captain Inigo Lopez de Recalde, known as Loyola, who after being injured found religion and started the Jesuits. The city is still surrounded by old walls and fortifications and has retained its Gothic cathedral from the 14th-15th century.
Today it boasts a population of close to 200,000 and is located 92 km southeast of San Sebastian.
Despite its rich history, it is well known around the world for its annual running of the bulls during the feast of San Fermin commencing on July 6th. This festival was popularized by Ernest Hemingway’s book The Sun Also Rises written in 1926.
Bilbao
Bilbao is the capitol of the Basque Provence of Biscay in Northern Spain. 
It is the largest city in the Basque Country, having more than 1 million inhabitants in the greater metropolitan area.
The singular location of the city along the Spanish coast allowed it to become Spain’s oldest and leading commercial port. The commercial exchanges from shipping fuelled the cultural enrichment of the city, which also benefited from the arrival of the pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. In the 19th century it became a city of steel mills, shipbuilders and other heavy industry.
Once grey and polluted, in recent years it has undergone ambitious redevelopments, the architectural highlight of which is the Guggenheim museum, which opened in 1997.
Despite its new cosmopolitan feel, Bilbao’s heart still beats to the rhythm of the picturesque streets in the old quarter.
