Located on the southeastern curve of the Bay of Biscay, St-Jean and Biarritz are the most important resorts on the Cote Basque. The French/Spanish alliance was cemented when Cardinal Mazarin arranged the marriage of Louis XIV to Maria-Teresa, the Infanta of Spain, in St. Jean-de-Luz. Biarritz made in the international must-do list when the Empress Eugenie built her palace there is 1854. Since then, it has attracted a seemingly endless list of crowned heads and tycoons, drawn by the pleasant climate, the broad sandy beaches and the casinos that thrive here.