About 110km, roughly an hour and a half by car — close enough to combine a coastal stay with a day trip into the Béarn foothills.
Discover Local Basque Country & Béarn: What to Do Around Mercure Basque Country & Béarn
At Mercure, we believe you shouldn't need a guidebook to feel like you belong somewhere. That's the idea behind Discover Local: since 1973, every Mercure hotel has been built around its neighbourhood, not just dropped into it — from the décor on the walls to the flavours on the menu. Step into any Mercure and our teams are on hand with the kind of tips you won't find in a guidebook: the market stall locals queue for, the bar where nobody speaks English, the walk that skips the crowds. They live here. They know. Discover Local isn't a generic city guide — it's a short, honest list of the restaurants, markets and neighbourhoods our own hotel teams actually recommend to guests, updated as the city changes around us. Below, you'll find our picks for Basque Country & Béarn, an interactive map to help you find your way, and answers to the questions travellers ask us most. So — where will Discover Local take you?
Basque Country & Béarn in 5 picks
Biarritz
Belle Époque villas line the seafront above the Grande Plage, and the town has been a serious surf destination since the sport arrived here in the 1950s. Come for the waves, stay for the views from the Rocher de la Vierge.
Bayonne
Bayonne's historic centre — half-timbered houses along the Nive river, the Basque Museum, the old ramparts — moves at a different pace to the coast. The town also has one of France's oldest chocolate-making traditions, dating back to converso refugees who settled here centuries ago.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz
A working fishing port with a seaside promenade lined with tamarisk trees. The sheltered bay makes it one of the calmer beach towns on this stretch of coast — good for families, less about nightlife than Biarritz.
Espelette
Strings of red peppers hang drying from the whitewashed, red-shuttered façades here from late summer into autumn. Piment d'Espelette carries a protected AOP label, and you'll find it in every savoury Basque dish worth ordering.
Pau
The Béarn's capital sits with the Pyrenees on the horizon — the Boulevard des Pyrénées terrace was built specifically for the view. The château here is the birthplace of King Henri IV, now a museum you can walk through.
FAQ
Yes, Biarritz has been a surf town since the sport arrived in France in the 1950s, and there are surf schools catering to first-timers along the beach.
Peppers are picked and hung to dry from late summer into autumn, with a dedicated festival held in the village at the end of October.
Where to sleep
See our Mercure hotels across Basque Country & Béarn, ideally placed to explore these picks.