← San Sebastián Marathon·2 nights

Saint-Jean-de-Luz: The French Basque Bay

Two nights across the border in a French Basque harbour town on a sheltered bay, where Louis XIV married a Spanish princess, with Biarritz a short train ride away and a flat promenade on the doorstep.

Duration2 nights
TransitEuskotren to Hendaye, about 40 minutes, then French regional train, about 10 minutes
DepartsSan Sebastián Amara Euskotren station

After the San Sebastián Marathon: Saint-Jean-de-Luz

The Route: San Sebastián → Hendaye → Saint-Jean-de-Luz → Biarritz Airport Logistics: Euskotren to the border at Hendaye, French regional train to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, bus or taxi to Biarritz Airport. No car needed. Marathon Month: November Duration: 2 nights

San Sebastián Amara ──(about 40 mins Euskotren)──> Hendaye ──(about 10 mins TER)──> Saint-Jean-de-Luz
                                                                                         │
                          Biarritz Airport (BIQ) ◄──(about 20 mins by taxi or bus)──────┘

The San Sebastián Marathon finishes a short train ride from France. The Basque coast carries on across the border, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the first town of any size on the French side, sits on a bay sheltered enough that its promenade is walkable even in November.

November on the French Basque coast is quiet. The summer crowds have gone, some hotels and restaurants close for the season, and the weather swings between mild, bright days in the mid-teens and Atlantic rain. Book accommodation and dinner ahead; some places close in November.

Euskotren's line from San Sebastián runs to Hendaye station, on the French border, in about 40 minutes, from Amara and other city stops. At Hendaye, change to a French TER regional train for the 10-minute run to Saint-Jean-de-Luz–Ciboure. Buy the TER ticket at the station machine or on the SNCF Connect app. Check both timetables, since connections are not coordinated.

Nights One and Two: Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Saint-Jean-de-Luz was a whaling and fishing port and later a corsairs' base. Its moment in history came in June 1660, when Louis XIV married the Spanish infanta Maria Theresa in the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, sealing the Treaty of the Pyrenees. The door through which the couple left was walled up afterwards. The church, with its three tiers of carved wooden galleries, is on the pedestrian Rue Gambetta and is level to reach. Maison Louis XIV, the shipowner's house where the king stayed, overlooks the harbour square and can be visited by guided tour in season; check whether it is open in November.

The bay promenade is the primary recovery route: a paved, level walk along the sea wall above the sandy beach, about a kilometre, protected by breakwaters that make the bay calm when the open coast is rough. Ciboure, across the harbour, is a short, flat walk over the bridge, with the house where the composer Maurice Ravel was born on its quay.

Biarritz is 10 minutes up the line by train or bus, for a second day. Its seafront has a flat promenade from the Grande Plage to the harbour, with steps and slopes around the Rocher de la Vierge, a rock connected to the shore by an iron footbridge.

Where to stay. The Grand Hôtel Saint-Jean-de-Luz is on the beach promenade with a spa, good for sore legs. Hôtel de la Plage is a smaller hotel on the seafront beside the old town.

Where to eat. The cooking is Basque with a French accent: ttoro fish soup, piperade, Bayonne ham and gâteau basque. Chez Pablo, in the old town, is a long-established Basque restaurant known for grilled fish and chipirons. The streets behind the harbour have plenty of other choices; check opening days in November.

Getting to Biarritz Airport

Biarritz Airport (BIQ) is about 20 minutes from Saint-Jean-de-Luz by taxi, or reachable by the local bus network via Biarritz. Winter flights to the UK are fewer than in summer, so check routes for your date. The alternative is back to San Sebastián by train and on to Bilbao Airport (BIO) by coach, about three hours in all.