Isabelle de Joantho is a painter and sculptor who studied at the Ecole Supérieure d’Art de Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz.

Food

The glutton The restaurant (named after a cancan dancer from the Moulin Rouge who gulped down drinks from her clients) serves excellent local cuisine in a 1900s Basque red dining room. grilled squid a la plancha (grilled squid with garlic and parsley) and Spanish sea bream. For fresh products, Halls the covered market is full of tasting bars, organic bakeries, cheese and cold meats stalls and fishmongers. Two other places not to be missed are the Place Bellevue on the seafront for one of the House Pariés‘caramel fondant kanougas, flavored with vanilla or Espelette pepper. And in Bidart, a town a bit down the coast, it’s worth watching a Basque cake (a cake with a creamy filling and an orange zest) being made in front of you at Bassilour mill water Mill.

Inspiration

Overlooking the old fishing port is the impressive neo-Gothic gray stone church of St. Eugenie – patron saint of Napoleon III’s wife, Eugénie de Montijo, who made Biarritz a spectacular spa and holiday resort in the midst of from the 19th century. My place of inspiration is below: the huge vaulted crypt, which serves as an art exhibition space. I have exhibited there several times and the atmosphere is incredible. Biarritz is today a hub of galleries and contemporary art, and I still frequent La Brouillarta, an annual outdoor art fair on the waterfront. There is also a route of works of art, a pedestrian route around the many frescoes and outdoor sculptures of the city.

Green area

The assets of Biarritz are the sea, the mountains, the countryside and the Spanish border, but we have three golden retrievers, so green spaces are very important to us. There are two beautiful lakes just outside of town, Mouriscot Lake and Marion Lake. Mouriscot is popular with joggers and cyclists: it has wide, wild trails through the woods and many benches overlooking the lake. Marion, which is suitable for both dogs and families, has a bucolic lakeside path, swampy areas, and plenty of mature trees and lawns. Both can be reached on bus line 5 from the city center passing in front of Biarritz horse race track.

District

The Grande Plage and the Biarritz Casino waterfront can get very busy in the summer, so it’s best to visit out of season, but the Port des Pêcheurs to the south is still beautiful. Located on a natural cove, the protected port is home to a “village” of 65 huts known as the crampons – whitewashed fishermen’s huts embedded in the rock, with red, blue or bright green shutters. They have barely changed in 150 years, although a few have been turned into cafes and restaurants. There is a 19-year waiting list to rent one – you have to own a boat and a mooring in the fishing port. The port sits under the old whale watching tower and is the most authentic and charming stretch of Biarritz waterfront. It has a small beach and alleys draped in floats, fishing nets, and the occasional giant anchor.

Night life

Bar Jean, at the heart of the tapas, paella and beef culture of Biarritz since the 1930s, remains open until well after midnight, as do many pintxos bars (tapas) around the Les Halles market. It is very common to go from bar to bar in Biarritz, to taste tapas with Basque cider, which is poured into tiny round glasses from the top of the table so that the cider is aerated, although it is quite sour and vinegar! Or, if you are at the beach along the town’s Côte des Basques, there are only 100 steps up to Etxola Bibi Bar, a great place to watch the sunset with a cocktail and a plate of pintxos.

To stay

Close to the beaches and Les Halles, Villa Koegui (doubles from € 85, breakfast € 15 pp) has been renovated this year. It has an elegant living room, an outdoor terrace and family suites.