Bayonne & Traditional Basque Villages
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port
Hendaye (Biarritz), France
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activityLevel
Moderate Activity
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excursionType
Information Not Currently Available
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wheelchairAccessible
No
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startingAtPrice
$110
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minimumAge
Information Not Currently Available
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duration
4½ Days
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mealsIncluded
Meals not included
A panoramic drive takes you through traditional villages of the Basque region -- Ascain, Sare, Aïnhoa and Espelette.
Ascain, built on the foothills of La Rhune and beside the Nivelle River, is a picturesque village ideally situated in the Labourd province. It features the architectural harmony that is typical of the province with its grouping of beautiful 17th-century homes.
The village of Sare, surrounded by superb Basque farmhouses, lies in the shadow of Rhune Mountain and in the heart of an old smuggling region.
You will enjoy a 30-minute stop at the village of Aïnhoa, almost totally destroyed by the Spaniards in 1629. Today's houses were rebuilt during the 17th and 18th centuries. Aïnhoa's main street contains some of the finest houses built in the Labourd style, with the dates of construction and names of the owners engraved on the lintels above the doorways.
Espelette, with its unusual, narrow, winding main street is a village famous for pottoks -- Basque mountain ponies -- and for its red pimientos used extensively in Basque cuisine.
From village to town, you now proceed to Bayonne, located at the junction of the Nive and Adour Rivers. Bayonne is steeped in history; it began life as a Roman garrison town. Medieval Bayonne developed on the same site, under the Coats of Arms of both France and England. The town became a flourishing port during 300 years of English rule -- the product of the famous marriage between Alienor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet. Their son, Richard the Lion Heart, often visited Bayonne and eventually married a Basque princess from Navarre. You will enjoy walking along the narrow pedestrian streets of the Old Town -- they are lined with 18th-century homes. And you will be delighted to know that Bayonne's oldest gourmet tradition is chocolate. Portuguese Jews introduced a secret technique of chocolate-making in the 16th century and Bayonne was thus the first town in France fortunate enough to succumb to the 'devil's drink'.
Please note: Wear comfortable walking shoes.