GUIDE / BIARRITZ / THE OCEAN IS FOREVER
The modern history of Biarritz has been shaped by a small group of people, in many ways more different from one another than they were similar: Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie and author and screenplay writer Peter Viertel (for many years married to Deborah Kerr). The royal couple created the air of refinement and luxury that still marks the town, while the latter helped introduce surf culture, which today is a major influence.
In the 19th century, it was customary for the royal court to circulate between palaces. This served a dual function, it alleviated boredom among the ruling class while also connecting the elite to different parts of the country, in this way strengthening ties between the people and their rulers. Every year in early May, the royal couple and their court moved to the Château de Saint-Cloud, for June and July, they traveled with a select few to the Palace of Fountainebleu, after which they moved to Plombières and then Vichy. Then a sejour in Chàlons-sur-Marne (present day Chàlons-en-Champagne) would normally followed. Beginning in 1854, a September stop in Biarritz was added to the tour. Already after their first visit, they bought a large plot of land and built the royal château Villa Eugénie (still today considered the only palace that sits right on the French Atlantic Coast). Normally, they would stay here until November, enjoying the scenery and Basque nature.
La Grande Plage
The reason that Napoleon and Eugénie first began to include Biarritz on their royal itinerary was due to the wishes of Eugénie, who had often visited the town as a child, an experience she was never able to forget. One of Biarritz’ most famous landmarks was actually (in part) created by Napoleon III: the “Rock of Virgin Mary” is named so after the Virgin Mary-statue that has been placed here in commemoration of when a group sailors in distress were guided back to shore by a divine white light. Napoleon III decided to build a tunnel through the rock, and a few years later, Gustave Eiffel was asked to construct a bridge (still in use), connecting the rock permanently to the mainland.
Rocher de la Vierge
Rocher de la Vierge
¨The regular royal presence in Biarritz quickly turned the town into a fashionable resort. ¨
The regular royal presence in Biarritz quickly turned the town into a fashionable resort. Close to their villa, la Chapelle impériale was built. Completed in 1865, it is characterized by an eclectic mix of styles, from Spanish–Moorish to Roman-Byzantine. Today, it is the only building in Biarritz that hasn’t been altered since the Second Empire, but remains the same as the day it was completed. The same wide variety of aesthetic styles can be seen in the many extravagant mansions that occupy this part of Biarritz.
In 1880, Villa Eugénie was sold. The new owners turned it into a combined hotel/casino. A few years later, in 1903, the villa was destroyed in a fire. Today, l’Hòtel du Palais lies where the villa once stood. The pink luxury hotel has 142 rooms and is built in the shape of a giant “E” (as in Eugénie).
L’Hòtel du Palais
The Sun Also Rises is by many literary scholars considered Ernest Hemingway’s greatest novel. A roman à clef, the characters of the novel are loosely based on the people that were part of Hemingway’s social circles in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1957, it was turned into a film, with Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner and Errol Flynn in the leading roles. The screenplay was written by Peter Viertel. Early on, it was decided it should be filmed in Biarritz, and on a recognizant mission the year before, its producer Richard Darryl Zanuck and Veritel traveled from Los Angeles to better get to know the film site. Zanuck, an experienced surfer, had brought his surfboard with him, was almost immediately called back to Hollywood on an emergency, leaving Viertel alone. Without his colleague but with Zanuck’s board still with him, he decided to try surfing, but broke the nose of the board on the rocks by La Grande Plage on his first attempt. Regardless, he soon discovered not only the joy of surfing but also that the location of Biarritz, facing the strong winds of the Atlantic, provided ideal conditions.
After Viertel’s first brief misadventures on Zanuck’s board, word quickly spread about the great surfing possibilities in Biarritz, and today, surfing culture is an integral part of Biarritz culture. Biarritz has three main beaches. The smallest one is just next to the old port, protected from the crashing waves by a natural formation of rocks. In the summer afternoon, the small beach tends to be very crowded, but early in the morning, almost no one is here and it is perfect for a quiet morning swim. La Grande Plage is the largest and most popular one, stretching from the old port, past the casino and l’Hôtel du Palais, all the way to the lighthouse. The intense force of the ocean is directly noticeable, as the waves (having built their force for miles and miles out in the Atlantic Ocean) come to a full stop by crashing towards the beach. Surfers however tend to prefer the equally large la Plage de la Côte des Basques, on the other side of town.
Rocher de la Vierge
¨Tides are caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces from the moon and the sun, combined with the rotation of the earth.¨
As Biarritz is on the Atlantic Coast, the tide will mark the time of day. Tides are caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces from the moon and the sun, combined with the rotation of the earth. This means that the beaches of Biarritz will look different depending on what time of day it is. The strong tidal effects are part of the general impression of nature being a particularly strong force in and around Biarritz: the air is fresher, the wind stronger and the ocean has more energy than in almost any other place in France.
As through a strange coincidence, the tidal movements of the ocean parallel the hidden meaning of Hemingway’s novel. Hemingway included two epigraphs (which refers to an initial quote, placed before the beginning of the first chapter) in the book, one referencing “the lost generation” of young men and women coming of age after World War I. The other was a quotation from Ecclesiastes: “One generation passeth away, and another cometh, but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.” In a letter to his editor, Hemingway confided that the book was actually not so much about the fleeting experiences of one particular generation, but rather about the permanence of earth. In the larger scope of things, individual human experiences are ephemeral, small sparks of light in a vast universe, that will continue to exist regardless of what we humans do. Or, translated to the rhythmic tidal flows at the beaches of Biarritz: waves will come and go, but the ocean is forever.
To stay
19th century manor estate, 4 km from Biarritz, with a large park full of roses, magnolia and rhododendron.
48 Rue Alan Seeger
64200 Biarritz
France
+33 5 59 41 53 20
Small hotel in a former private villa, walking distance to the central parts of town.
10 Av. de Tamames
64200 Biarritz
France
+33 5 59 24 89 29
One of Biarritz’ oldest hotel, located in a 17th century mansion, redesigned by Patricia Ibanez.
30 Rue Gambetta
64200 Biarritz
France
+33 5 59 24 93 82
To eat
The best seafood restaurant in Biarritz.
51, bis All. Port des Pêcheurs
64200 Biarritz
France
+33 5 59 24 43 84
L’ecaillerie
Oyster bar at the Halles Centrales.
Halles Centrales
64200 Biarritz
France
+33 5 59 24 06 72
Le Jardin
Small and friendly vegan restaurant, in central Biarritz.
4 Av. Jaulerry
64200 Biarritz
France
+33 5 35 39 51 43
Xuxu
Vegan restaurant, focus on natural and local ingredients.
8 bis Av. de la Reine Nathalie
64200 Biarritz
France
+33 7 67 15 33 81
To listen to
