Biarritz en Forme

We have been in the French resort town of Biarritz for over two weeks now. The area is really the combination of 4 towns, each with it’s own unique flavour: Biarritz, Bayonne, Anglet, and Bidart. We have spent a little time exploring each but have stayed close to home in Biarritz the majority of the time.

Biarritz is on the Atlantic Coast about 25 km north of Spain. It was a small Basque fishing and whaling port until the late 1800’s when it became a favourite spot for Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon)  and Empress Eugenie, his wife. With them came nobles from around Europe, and Biarritz became a very popular beach destination. Ambassadors and royalty from around Europe spent time in Biarritz and built huge villas on the cliffs. Because of this the architecture is fairly new compared to the rest of France. The location remained a popular resort destination with Hotel du Palais and the Casino being focal points on the Grande Plage. In the 1950s surfing was introduced and the coast became the centre for surfing in France. Because of this there is a unique mix of upmarket tourism and the surfing and beach lifestyle.

In addition to this, Biarritz is part of the Pays Basque (a distinct cultural region in southwest France and northern Spain), which brings with it it’s own language, food, culture and sports.

We have found Biarritz to have a very active and sporty population and have jumped right in alongside them. They have some great public exercise routes integrated into the infrastructure and ideas for the public to keep fit that they can access on their smartphone through posted QR codes. Katy and I have been jogging daily along the unbelievably scenic waterfront. The views make it difficult to work too hard. From the Hotel du Palais, along the Grande Plage, past the Port de Pecheurs, Plage de Port Vieux, Rocher de la Vierge, and along the Cote de Basques beach and up the stairs has been our daily route.

Katy talked in an earlier post about the Plage de Port Vieux and the swim club there. The other thing that has been a common occurrence there and on the Grande Plage is surf rescue training. There is even a school program for high school aged kids during the day where they practice rescues, surf skiing and swimming in the waves..

On our first day here we celebrated Matt’s 4th birthday.  It isn’t easy to pack birthday presents while on vacation, but he was pretty happy with his toy cobra from the markets of Marrakesh and a new skateboard from a surf shop in Biarritz. Of course we had to get one for Nick too, but they have loved skateboarding on sunny days along the waterfront. They are even starting to get the hang of it…

We have been lucky enough to take in two professional rugby games since we have been here. The first was a night game in Bayonne with Avion Bayonais. It was a little late for the whole family to go, so I took the boys. They had fun, but were exhausted and we left just after half time. Matt’s favourite discovery there was a sandwich American, which consisted of a half baguette with two hamburger patties inside and stuffed with fries.

Like watching FC Sevilla, I was in awe of the crowd singing the team song before the game.

The second match was an afternoon game in Biarritz with the Biarritz Olympique playing Montparnesse. It was the last regular season game and Biarritz played well in an exciting, high scoring match to beat Montparnesse. After enjoying so much sevens lately we had almost forgotten what a tough physical game 15 aside is. The boys loved waving their flags when Biarritz scored, and Olivia seemed to love the chanting and drums in the crowd. The crowd was passionate and had a family friendly vibe to it. The Basque supporters singing their songs before hand was great to see.

After the game we went to the otherside of the Biarritz athletics grounds to watch the semi-final of the French Cesta Punta (or jai alai) Championship. It was interesting to learn that jai alai originated here in the Basque country along with several other handball related sports called together Pelote Basque. From here jai alai travelled to the Americas where it is popular in Florida and South America. The speed of the ball was amazing, we were told the ball travels at speeds up to 400km/hour.

Of course surfing is a major draw in Biarritz. Knowing this, the first thing I did was seek out a wetsuit and board to rent. I have surfed a fair bit in Tofino over the years, but for the last 10 years or so I probably get in one weekend a year. The size and the strength of the waves here in spring was therefore a little intimidating. After renting a 2/3 wetsuit which has been plenty warm for here, I unsuccessfully tried out a board left at our apartment that was far too small for me. I soon gave up and pulled out a boogie board, which the boys took a turn with as well. The next day I rented a 7’6″ board for a week so I could surf at the Grande Plage  (although not the easiest of waves it is the closest and a great place for the kids to play on the beach). The first day with the new board started off great and with some hard work I was able to get past the breakers and surf a couple good waves. I found the waves pretty crowded though and was constantly working hard to get out of other peoples way, so after awhile I surfed the inside.  The next couple days as the weather turned and the waves moved to 8-10 feet, I found myself getting a great workout and thrown around by the ocean but not riding a lot of waves, although I got to watch some great surfing. Most days I managed to catch a good wave or two, but the takeoff was a lot steeper and quicker than I’m used to in Tofino and I had some spectacular falls. When the weather turned really bad later in the week it wasn’t worth me going out with the debris in the water and rough conditions. As the weather improves this week I will be back in the water and will probably try out the Cote de Basques waves as well which look far more mellow.

There is an indoor salt water swimming pool right on the beach a short walk from our apartment. This has been a great spot to get the kids some exercise on a rainy day. The swimming pool rules are a little different here though. You must wear a swim cap and only tight fitting speedos or boxer type suits are allowed. We went shopping, picked up some new suits and went with the flow.

The first Sunday we were in Biarritz they had an event called Biarritz en Forme. There were booths setup along the waterfront promenade and casino advertising all the athletic clubs available including yoga, ultimate, surfing, surf rescue, tai chi, biking, zumba, karate, gymnastics, crossfit, golf, swimming and athletics. Most gave people the opportunity to try the activity out. The boys loved getting on some bikes and tried out the obstacle course. Katy got the chance to try out an electric bike and loved it. She could see how handy the little electric assist would be going uphill with Olivia in the chariot behind her. They also had a challenge to record how many steps the people of Biarritz did that day. The boys were given pedometers and Matt ran in circles all afternoon to increase his total. One booth had a bike powered blender to make smoothies with which was a lot of fun to try out.

It has been a great start in Biarritz despite the weather, but I’ll leave the rest of our adventures for another post. Au revoir!