Some golf, some sun and lots of fun ...

In both summer and winter, Biarritz welcomes you with open arms!

Just one and a half hours from Bordeaux, and Bilbao, Biarritz, in the south west of France, on the edge of the ocean and at the foot of the mountains, is forever marked by the time spent here by Napoleon III and the great leaders of this world.

Situated between Spain, the mountains and the ocean, Biarritz is today one of the most established centres of tourism within Europe.

Sports enthusiasts are spoilt for choice with the city offering a wide array of activities including golf, surfing, rambling, scuba diving, rafting, paragliding, horse riding, and the many kilometres of beach.

There are numerous spa centres, concerts, expositions, museums and natural and archaeological sites to help visitors discover the Basque culture and traditions.

Graced by the presence of Empress Eugénie, the town became a fashionable seaside resort in the 19th century, and is today 'the' destination for golf, surfing, getting back into shape, and business tourism (incentives and conferences).

Never more chic and glamorous, the town, which from January to December lives according to the rhythm of its festivals, ballets, cultural and sports events, is perfect for all escapes.

Lovely beaches

Biarritz has long beaches, big waves, mild weather all year round, and has always seduced lovers of fresh air and the sea. Two sports are particularly popular in Biarritz - golf and surfing.

Scriptwriter Peter Viertel came to Biarritz from America in 1957 with his wife Deborah Kerr to shoot his film The Sun also Rises. He brought surfboards with him to practice surfing, an original sport imported from Hawaï, on Biarritz' 'Large Beach'. A spectacular sport, surfing rapidly started to attract many followers in France, including Joël de Rosnay. It was such a success that surfers founded the Surf-Riding Federation in 1964. A "Sports and Study" department involving surfing was included in the curriculum of the town's high school soon afterwards.

Very quickly, the Large Beach gained a reputation as one of the best spots for surfing in Europe and now attracts surfers from all over the world.

Today a international competition is held in Biarritz at the beginning of July: the Roxy Jam on the 'Basques' Beach'. This world championship contest is specially organised for female surfers using boards that are longer than 2.74 metres and is being recognised as a 'classic' in its own style.

Tennis, horseriding, rugby, and of course pelota are available in Biarritz.

Ball games are a tradition in the Basque country, a region that gave the world one of the greatest tennis champions of the pre-war period - Jean Borotra. Since then, tennis has been widely practiced by the Basque people, including tourists. Each year the International Biarritz Olympic Tournament is held at the town's tennis club which comprises 14 courts.
Riding contests

For those who prefer horseback riding, Biarritz also has something to offer with horseriding contests, which attract a great number of riders each summer.

Gamblers can also bet on horses in July with the "Hippodrome des Fleurs" horse races.

The people of Biarritz, just like the rest of the South-East of France, are fond of rugby. Supporting their Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque team, (France champion in 2002, 2005 and 2006), the Biarritz rugby experts do fully agree that this is a " 'hooligans' sport played by gentlemen". Serge Blanco, the famous '15' of the French team, made his career exclusively by playing for the 'Biarritz Olympics'. Last but not least, Biarritz people love Basque pelota before everything else, a sport at which they excel. Biarritz offers many possibilities for amateur players of such a unique sport, either with bare hands or using a chistera or a pala... However, Biarritz' real speciality is Cesta Punta, a more intense and stronger version of pelota, introduced in France 30 years ago.

Golf anyone?

Biarritz is famed for its golf. With 10 golf courses within a 30-kilometre radius and the second oldest golf course in continental Europe (Biarritz le Phare, created in 1888), Biarritz is a hotspot for Europe's golfers.

Around Biarritz they will find an exceptional choice of courses and a climate that is favourable for playing golf all year long.
Furthermore, Biarritz has a unique training centre in Europe, the Ilbarritz International Centre.

Located over 26 hectares right on the edge of the sea, the Ilbarritz-Bidart International Training Centre is the only complex of this kind in Europe, an expert facility in a superb setting overlooking the ocean.

Covering over 14 acres along the coast it offers all the techniques necessary for amateur and professional players to improve their golf, with a training workshop including a video, and a nine-hole golf route.

The Golf Pass product, offering six different courses, perfectly responds to the expectations of golfers wishing to play a diversity of courses nearby. An epicentre for golf, Biarritz also offers about thirty competitions throughout the year, several of which are international.

The Golf Pass gives access to six of the most beautiful courses on the Southern Basque coast of Les Landes: Arcangues, Biarritz le Phare, Bassussarry, Moliets, Seignosse, Ilbarritz. Combining diversity and proximity, the pass offers the golfer the possibility of playing five different courses within a 50km radius in one week.

This five green-fees pass is on sale at each participating golf course.

Fitness ideas

Fitness means getting the wind back into your sails.

Biarritz is asserting itself more and more as a 'capital' for seawater therapy and it cures 15 per cent of people taking the waters thanks to the town's two complementary centres: the Thalassa seawater therapy institute and the Thermes Marins: Seawater Therapy à la Carte.