It's a traditional Basque house, with its white facade, half-timbering and red shutters. It bears the words Hôtel Saint-Julien. Built in 1895, it first served as a boarding house, before becoming a hotel over a century ago. Situated close to the Côte des Basques, the establishment boasts a number of ocean-view rooms on the upper floors. A major renovation last year created six new rooms, divided between the garden level and the first floor.
Room 101 opens onto the hotel's large paved terrace. Everywhere, curves recall the ocean's huge rolling waves, from the headboards to the arches of the doors, from the seat to the pedestal table, from the wooden armchairs to the lighting fixtures. As a welcome gift, a small box of Kanougas, soft caramels from the Pariès confectionery in Biarritz, is placed on each bed. To reconnect with the history of the place, the common areas have been designed like the rooms of a family home.
On your return from the beach, you can read in the soft light of the living room's large sofa, or play a game of Mikado on the coffee table. Breakfast is served in a large, bright room or on the terrace, weather permitting. It includes local specialties such as Bayonne ham, ewe's milk cheese, black cherry jam and scrambled eggs sprinkled with Espelette pepper.
From €120 per night in a double room.
At 160 meters: Share tapas from the sea
Carøe is the surname of Joséphine, the Danish-born 30-something Biarritz woman who opened this fish bar in 2016. It's a meeting place for sharing seafood dishes. Depending on what's available, you can try steamed skate wing or sea bass back sashimi. Or one of the house's signature dishes, such as sea bass head and cockles covered with a miso, lemon zest and white wine sabayon. The 200 entries on the wine list also make it an excellent address for small plates dinners.
51 Rue Gambetta. Open daily from 7 pm to 11 pm.
At 280 meters: Feast on local cheeses
Former attorneys, dairy-product lovers Anne Balhadere and Frédéric Menissez purchased Fromagerie Gambetta in 2019, after training in their new trade with the previous owners. They offer a warm welcome to loyal customers and holidaymakers alike, and happily detail the provenance and manufacture of their range of cheeses, which includes several Ossau-Iratys and a few curiosities such as a black garlic ewe's milk cheese and ewe's milk blue cheese. In summer, they prepare take-away boards to enjoy on the beach.
23 Rue Gambetta. Open Tuesday to Sunday. Tel: 06-23-76-13-21.
At 650 meters: Enjoy neo-Basque cuisine
You have 39.06% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.