Browse Topics
Tools
Editor's choice

Mysterious City of Gods comes to City of Light

Some 450 pre-Columbian pieces in Quai Branly museum.

France country factbook

Includes geography, people, government, economy and transnational issues.

Scandals from the 'The Wild West of Politics'

Basil Howitt on criminal investigations in the coastal resorts.

Renting in Paris

Useful information on renting accommodation in Paris.

Moving your marriage abroad

Relocating can have a big impact on your relationship.

Internaxx Stock Market
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.3 0.50
DAX 5252.45 1.50
IBEX 30 10726.8 0.59
CAC 40 3377.59 1.40
FTSE 100 4564.5 0.79
AEX 276.85 0.95
DJIA 9096.72 -0.13
Nasdaq 1975.51 0.39
FTSE MIB 20341.67 1.65
TSX Composite 10570.54 -1.74
ASX 4148.9 -0.60
Hang seng 20135.5 -2.37
Straits Times 0.00
ISEQ 20 442.48 0.27
You are here: Home Life in Lifestyle Basque country: a surfer's paradise

28/07/2003Basque country: a surfer's paradise

France's pine-shaded, southern Atlantic seabord is a beautiful alternative to the over-populated Mediterranean coastline. There, in the heart of Basque country, lies a coastal town steeped in charm and tradition, and boasting the best surfing beach in Europe.

 

Down along the southwestern coast of France, the mighty Atlantic rolls up to some of the most charming towns in the tour guides, including Biarritz and St. Jean de Luz.

Yet, tiny Guethary, tucked away between its two more famous neighbours, offers old-fashioned French Basque charm, with elderly gentlemen in berets chatting away beside the town jai alai fronton, or court. (Jai alai, a game much like handball, is wildly popular in Basque country. The ball is caught and hurled at a wall with a wicker basket strapped to the wrist.)

In Basque country, the town hall, the fronton and the church form the heart of the village, often the scene of traditional fairs with singing and dancing.

If you're a young surfer, you certainly won't skip this village.

The famous Guethary wave, pounding off the beach known as Parlementia, offers the wild surf crowd some of the best rides east of Malibu.

Guethary, 'the Basque town at the ocean,' boasts 1,296 inhabitants living in splendid tranquility in houses perched on a hill sloping down to the Atlantic. When the summer sun beats down on the rust-red and white houses, you have the feeling that plenty of them are outdoors enjoying themselves.

For centuries, townsfolk eked out a living whaling, fishing and farming. Tourism came relatively early for such a remote town, after a railroad link to nearby Biarritz was finished in the 19th century. Suddenly Guethary benefited from the visitor boom in bigger and better-known Biarritz to the north, with upper-class Parisians looking for a summer escape.

 Many of the buildings probably still look a lot the way the did back then. But the visitors have certainly changed - with the influx each summer of tanned, shaggy-haired surfers.

Guethary is home to one of Europe's best-known waves, a powerful swell that can reach heights of over 3 metres (10 feet) and which break several hundred meters (and several hundred more feet) from the rocky beach.

0 reactions to this article

Inside Expatica
Do the recent healthcare changes affect you?

Do the recent healthcare changes affect you?

Our expert Steven Grover delves into the murky waters of French healthcare for expats and asks how recent changes affect them?

Assurance Vie - An expatriate’s guide

Assurance Vie - An expatriate’s guide

Tax and estate planning figure prominently in the list of priorities of many financially secure expatriate residents of France.

Clubs, groups and associations in France

Clubs, groups and associations in France

From Gaelic clubs to Canadian Alumni organisations, there is bound to be an English-speaking club for you in France.

Should I buy or rent in France?

Should I buy or rent in France?

This is what you need to consider when making an early choice between purchasing or renting accommodation in France.