← Marathon International de Biarritz – Pays Basque·1 night

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port: A Night in the Hills

A walled medieval town at the foot of the Pyrenees and the last French staging post on the Camino de Santiago, an hour and a half inland from the Biarritz coast.

Duration1 night
TransitTER train, around 1h26-1h51, changing at Bayonne
DepartsBiarritz-la Négresse station

After the Biarritz Marathon: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

The Route: Biarritz-la Négresse → Bayonne (change) → Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Logistics: TER train, changing at Bayonne, around 1h26 at the fastest and closer to 1h51 on a typical connection. A cobbled hill town, better suited to a night's stay than an immediate same-day return. Marathon Month: April Duration: 1 night

Biarritz-la Négresse ──(TER to Bayonne)──> Bayonne ──(change, TER)──> Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

The Marathon International de Biarritz – Pays Basque spends its middle kilometres in the rolling inland communes around Arcangues and Arbonne, which is a gentle preview of the landscape that gets serious further into the Basque interior at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. This is genuinely different country from the Biarritz coast: steep green hills, a walled citadel, and the Pyrenees themselves rising immediately to the south. April here is cooler and wetter than the coast, with cloud regularly sitting on the surrounding hills; layer accordingly and expect a damp cobblestone town rather than a sunny hillside one.

The direct distance from Biarritz is around 67 kilometres, but the train journey changes at Bayonne and takes anywhere from 1h26 at its fastest to around 1h51 on a more typical connection. This is not a trip to attempt on the Sunday evening after finishing: the town's slopes, cobbles and steps reward a runner with recovered legs far more than one still stiff from the marathon, and a night here works better than an ambitious same-day round trip.

A Night in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port has been a staging post for centuries before it became a highlight of European long-distance walking: French pilgrims heading for Santiago de Compostela via the Camino Francés have gathered here before crossing the Pyrenees since the Middle Ages, and the Pilgrims' Office on Rue de la Citadelle still issues the compostela credentials that mark the start of that route today, whether or not walking any of it is on the agenda.

The Citadelle, a star-shaped fortress rebuilt under Vauban in the late seventeenth century, sits above the old town and is reached by a genuinely steep climb: cobbled streets and stone steps with no lift or gentler alternative, worth attempting only once legs have recovered from the marathon rather than on the evening of arrival. The view from the top over the town's red-roofed houses and the river below is the payoff, and the walk down offers a different route along the town's fortified walls.

The Rue de la Citadelle itself, the main street running up from the Porte Saint-Jacques to the Citadelle, is flatter than the climb above it and lined with the tall stone Basque houses, many dated and carved over their doorways, that make this one of France's most complete medieval streetscapes. The Pont Romain over the Nive, actually a later structure despite the name, gives the classic view back over the river to the town's ramparts and is a level, short stroll from most central accommodation.

For dinner, the restaurant at Hôtel Les Pyrénées, run by the Arrambide family and long associated with serious Basque and Béarnaise cooking, is the destination option in town and worth booking ahead. For something more straightforward, Hôtel des Remparts runs its own restaurant serving regional dishes in a stone-walled dining room built into the old fortifications, a good fit for a traveller who wants a proper sit-down meal without a special-occasion price tag.

Where to stay: Hôtel des Remparts, built into the town's old fortified walls, puts a guest inside the historic core with direct access to the ramparts walk. Hôtel Les Pyrénées, a short walk from the citadel gate, pairs its well-regarded restaurant with quieter rooms set back from the main pilgrim traffic through town.

Getting Home

Return to Biarritz Pays Basque Airport (BIQ) by retracing the train route via Bayonne back to Biarritz-la Négresse, then a short taxi or the Txik Txak line 11 bus to the airport, around 4 kilometres from central Biarritz. Given the change at Bayonne and the overall 1h26-1h51 journey time, build a generous buffer before any flight, and check the connection times at thetrainline.com or SNCF Connect before travelling rather than assuming a fixed timetable.