Biarritz (Part 1) - Tour of the Beaches

Start your tour at the lower black dot. This is the direction of my hotel, though it is further south. Heading up the Rue Gambetta, you will eventually reach the first blue dot, which is where I had dinner my first night there. Continuing to the next blue dot, you will be at the location of this video of the beach and the properties along it:



At about 51 seconds in, you can see the Biarritz casino, and starting at 1:25 the fancy hotel that was a chateau or something.

At the third dot, you're at the main entrance to the beach, which is where many of the facebook photos were taken. Finally, at the forth dot, you will be exploring a little cove created by the space under a large rock formation. A view from within:



Obviously, it starts out pointing in the direction of the Porte des Pecheurs and then turns back toward the main beach. There is also a second video, from on top of the rocks, of the peaches and the neighboring port:



Moving along, you will eventually reach the fifth dot at the far side of the Porte des Pecheurs ("Port of [the] Fishermen"), a beautiful port where fishermen still dock and where some of them still reside in ramshackle hillside houses, some of which have, by now, been turned into restaurants and businesses, though. To give you a better idea, here is a video:



Further still, you will reach the sixth blue dot, which is atop a large hill or cliff-face over-looking the ocean. There are many observation platforms here, and it's absolutely gorgeous, and kind of feels like the end of the world. I could almost imagine sailors looking out from here and wondering if there was anything more out there, but perhaps that is revisionist of me. I even lay in a little patch of grass on a hillside here and just contemplated life (and wished my friends were here to see all this with me). Anyway, this is a video of me climbing to the top and then surveying the ocean:



All right, continue along to the seventh and final dot, which is a leveled rock at the end of a long pier called the Rocher de la Vierge ("Rock of the Virgin"). As thought the last thing weren't end-of-the-world-y enough, this goes even further, as the video will evidence. Also be sure to note the statue of the Virgin Mary that gives the outcropping its name.



All right, from here, go back inland and explore at your leisure. I headed to the Musee de la Mer ("Sea Museum," or, basically, an aquarium), though it was unfortunately closed (starting that very day!), so I didn't get to go in. That's where I ended the tour with the red dot, though feel free to explore the city at your leisure. The streets down here are a little less touristy and more old-city, and there are plenty of delicious restaurants and nice little shops. Myself, I got a crepe and struck up a conversation with the nice crepe lady, but you are free to do as you wish. Enjoy!