At the beginning of May, we discovered the Basque country as a family, on the French side! It was a week of spring holidays filled with lots of fun activities for the kids, because this region is so family-friendly!
In this article, I present our itinerary for visiting the Basque country in 8 days (not at all optimised in terms of travel and kilometres, but based on the weather and what we wanted to do that day! As always, the various articles on the activities we tried out on site will follow later, along with all the information on our visits.
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The Basque Country with your family: programme for 1 week
Day 0: Journey from Briançon and Grenoble to Toulouse
Having left Grenoble to pick up our children on Thursday evening, we hit the road early on Friday 1 May. At 5am, we put the children in the car, forgetting Miss Voyageuse’s shoes, who got a new pair as a result!
We stopped for lunch at around 8am on the motorway near Montpellier and set off again, arriving in Toulouse at around 11am. Unfortunately, it rained all day, so after visiting the city until around 3pm, we headed back to a hotel near Toulouse to warm up.
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Family trip to the Basque Country – Day 1: Ondres and Bayonne
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That morning, the whole family got up at 8.30am to set off on the long journey. We arrived in Ondres at 12 noon, and as the apartment wasn’t available yet, we enjoyed a nice picnic on the beach! The children loved it and finally got a taste of their holidays, playing in the sand for a few hours.
Visit to Bayonne
In the afternoon, we were enchanted by a visit to Bayonne, where we bought Miss Voyageuse’s shoes, and its Museum of the Basque Country. Find out how to visit Bayonne as a family in the link below
And with the sun shining, we stayed on to wander around the bustling town of Bayonne..
Day 2 of our holiday in the Basque Country: Anglet, Bidard and Saint-Jean de Luz
After a walk along the Barre in Anglet, where the children admired the little wonders of the skate park and went down the slides in the huge play area, a visit to the Izadia park awaited us!
An ecological walk with an ornithologist to find out more about birds! For 2 hours, we listened to the birds singing, desperately trying to remember them.
Edit 2023: following a huge fire, the park had to close. It has now reopened to everyone’s delight.
In the afternoon, as we were about to join our friends on the beach at Saint-Jean de Luz, our route took us past the small village of Bidard and a very good restaurant, Venta Gaxuxa, which kept us in its seats until 3pm, even with the children, so overwhelmed had we been by the sweetness of life! A real little break that could be ideal for a family weekend in the Basque country!
At the end of the afternoon, the pretty beach of Saint-Jean de Luz welcomed us! The children, 5 in all, rushed into the water and played in the bouncy castles – which this seaside resort sets up free every holiday. Mini Voyageur was also delighted to be able to get into the water without fear of the big Atlantic Ocean waves that knocked him over at Ondres.
A stroll through the centre and narrow streets of Saint-Jean de Luz gave us the opportunity to discover a friendly, lively little town that is very typical of the Basque country. Thanks to Delphine for the short visit to the church where Louis XIV was married.
Family vacation in the Basque Country – Day 3: Biarritz
A grey day for the 3rd day of our holiday! Visiting the museums in the Basque country meant we weren’t dependent on the weather: the Biarritz Aquarium, a cross between a museum and an aquarium, with an exhibition of sea monsters that still raises a lot of questions for Mini Voyageur, 10 days later: ‘But why does he have no legs and he’s ugly’, referring to the blobflish!
We had a picnic on the coastal paths between the Aquarium and Biarritz’s unlikely little port, but it was so charming that we spent a long time sipping our beers there!
Then a short stroll through the centre of Biarritz to the Planète du Chocolat museum! (Update 2020 – this museum has been closed since 2018)
On the way, we discovered the Halles, a covered market in a superb building! Alas, we were too late to see the intense activity that usually takes place there!
For dessert, we visited the Musée du Chocolat – a must-see museum in the Basque Country, since the cocoa bean was landed in Bayonne and turned into chocolate in the region over 400 years ago, before its flavour took France by storm!
As in the Basque country, there can be 3 seasons in 1 day, the end of the day was spent enjoying the little beach at Port Vieux in Biarritz, with record temperatures once again!
We thought it was summer, but on the way back to the MMV residence we were treated to a splendid sunset!
Day 4: Tour between Hendaye – Espelette – Ainhoa
Once again the day got off to a bad start in the morning, so we headed for Hendaye to visit the Château d’Abbadia, a must-see in the Basque Country! A treasure hunt kept Miss Voyageuse busy, while Mini Voyageur looked at all the animals on the walls!
After the visit, we took a stroll around Hendaye, and enjoyed a pleasant meal in the warmth of a small ray of sunshine! And that day, as throughout the week, the weather was on our side!
The children wanted to make the most of Hendaye’s immense sandy beach, so I settled down, dressed, on the beach while M.Papa walked the length and breadth of the beach, which took almost 2 hours because it’s so big! We ended up in our swimming costumes and the children even went for a swim! A little pushed by the waves of the rising tide! At the end of the beach is the Spanish border, the boundary between the Spanish and French Basque Country!
After long hours on the beach, the road took us a little further inland to discover Espelette and Ainhoa! All the images of the Basque Country in 2 hamlets!
Espelette is splendid, but very touristy and so perfect that I felt it lacked a bit of authenticity! The facades are superb, and you’ll love the little shops where you can sample the specialities made with Espelette chilli pepper: chocolate, mustards and other sauces… It’s a great place to indulge your sweet tooth.
We made a diversion to see Ainhoa and I fell in love with it! A superb village, much less overrun by holidaymakers, pretty facades, houses that make you want to come back for the holidays, its pelota court where we watched Basque pelota players for 30 minutes, the children not wanting to leave!
Day 5: Grotte de Sare – Saint-Jean de Luz
That morning, we made a date with our friends to visit the caves at Sare! With their grandparents living just a few kilometres away, they hadn’t taken the time to revisit the area as a family!
While waiting for them, we fell under the spell of Ascain and its beautiful church (historic witness to my friend Delphine’s wedding and her children’s christenings! what luck!).
The Sare cave won over the children, who followed the guide step by step, asking her lots of questions ranging from the most interesting to the most zany (just like kids!). But the guide was very patient and explained everything very well.
After the tour, it’s back to the beach at Saint-Jean de Luz! In the cool! The strong wind and cloudy skies prompted us to have a picnic, wearing jumpers and windbreakers! But when our friends joined us, the sun came out again and the children had another swim.
At the end of the afternoon, we had an appointment with an enthusiast, Mr Gonzales, to see how chisteras are made in Anglet! A fun and incredibly interesting activity! If you don’t know what to do in the Basque Country, this is a really original visit!
Day 6: Rhune train – Saint-Jean de Luz
Once again, we meet up with our gang of Hauts-Alpins for the region’s must-do activity: the little Rhune train! In this very hilly region, you need to get a bit of height to appreciate the beauty of the area even more!
The little cogwheel train is the perfect way to do it! A climb to enjoy the good weather, the view, the wind… and the Pottoks, those little wild Basque horses!
Afterwards, we took a short stroll through Sare and had a bite to eat at the little bistro where we enjoyed our meal! Once again, a charming village with Basque red half-timbered facades!
A visit to the Etxola park will delight the children before we head back to join our friends on the beach at Saint-Jean de Luz! After a delicious meal at the Xaya restaurant in the centre of Saint-Jean de Luz, the 3 of us enjoyed the sunset, as Miss Traveller had gone to sleep at her friend’s house!
Day 7: Urrugne – Biarritz – Bayonne – Ondres
The last day of this crazy and enjoyable week, a change of programme sees us discover Wow Parc, a very pretty amusement park that has all the makings of an amusement park, but is much more eco-friendly. It’s a great place to spend some quiet time! The kids have a blast, while the parents enjoy the flora and fauna in a magnificent park!
A perfect way to end the week! Picnic and coffee on the beach in Biarritz with the grandparents of Les Minis Voyageurs, who were also passing through! Ah, when the travel bug is passed down from generation to generation, family reunions can also be found at the bend in the road 🙂
Then a warm, sunny late afternoon allowed us to enjoy the pool at our MMV residence, while I packed our bags.
The next day, after our 8-day holiday in the Basque country, we hit the road again at 4am, for a long drive, a lunch break and a visit to Aix-en-Provence before heading back to our mountains!
>> Read also : Aix en Provence with kids
Our family accommodation in the Basque Country: Résidence l’Allée des Dunes by MMV
We were accommodated by MMV, in Ondres / Bayonne – Résidence l’Allée des Dunes in the Landes, but only 7 kms from Biarritz!
Initially, we were going to visit the Biarritz region and the south of the Landes. But when Miss Voyageuse told us that one of her best friends was staying with her grandparents in Ascain, with her mum and her brothers, we didn’t hesitate to go down to the south of the Basque country so that the children could all enjoy it together. At this time of year, it’s really easy to do, just a 25-minute drive and you’re wherever you want to be! I don’t think it’s quite the same in summer!
In a few words, let me introduce you to the residence:
This MMV residence consists of small detached houses and flats. So we were renting, and I hadn’t been away like that for a long time. It takes a bit more organising than a hotel, but on the other hand it gives you more flexibility to organise things as a family! Food, cleaning products, etc. are all part of the luggage! Fortunately, sheets are provided, because I hadn’t thought about that at all! You just have to find out beforehand!
Our flat, on the ground floor – ideal for Mini Voyageur to ride his bike on the grass in front of us – also overlooked the swimming pool! Very nice! It had a bedroom and a ‘mountain corner’ (as we call it where I come from), i.e. a very small room with a bunk bed!
The kitchen was functional and had a large fridge, which I particularly appreciate when renting. You fill the fridge once for the whole week and don’t have to go shopping every 2 days.
The common room was large with a huge TV, which the children particularly appreciated for watching cartoons early in the morning, which they never do on our other trips! And they remarked to us, ‘it’s great to watch TV on holiday!’
Residence services:
Reception in the morning and at the end of the afternoon: a pity when you arrive in the middle of the day, you need to plan ahead and put your beach gear within reach to go and enjoy the immense beach of Ondres!
Large outdoor swimming pool, with paddling pool for children, but not heated! It was a bit tight in this season! As a result, the children only enjoyed it one afternoon, when it was an exceptionally warm 30°C that day.
For the children: the children’s club – if our programme had allowed it, the children could have attended a story reading every morning, which I would have really enjoyed, as they were tales from all over the world! Inflatable games, table football, tennis and table tennis… There’s also a teenagers’ club, a place where the big “kids” can just hang out.
The beach is about a kilometre away, huge and superb. The cycle path means you can get there in complete safety! On the other hand, we’re on the ocean, which means big rollers for younger children, ideal for surfers!
Price: from €275 per week for a 4-person apartment
How do you get to the Basque Country with your family?
- By car: approximately 7h30 from Lyon – 5h20 from Nantes – 12h from Strasbourg – 7h40 from Paris
- By train: Most of us will have to go up to Paris before going down to Bordeaux-Biarritz – Paris – Bordeaux: 2h30! We can’t wait for a train from Lyon to Bordeaux! Your train ticket here
- By plane: we don’t really need to do this as a family, as we’ll need to hire a car on the spot!
When should you go on holiday to the Basque Country with your children?
I’d advise you to go in the spring. You’ll be quieter on the beaches and the temperatures can be very, very hot!
It’s often said that you can have 4 seasons in one day, and I can confirm that we had rain from time to time in the morning and ended up with temperatures of no more than 30°C!
Summer is the height of the tourist season!
For more information on this region:
To prepare this trip and all these activities, we were helped by Terre et Côte Basque (for the south of the Basque Country) and the Office de tourisme du Pays-Basque -Pyrénées- Béarn. You can find all the information you need to prepare your trip on their website. Many thanks to them!
I hope this gives you an idea of what the Basque Country has to offer for a family week, and I’ll be back to tell you more about each activity in a few days’ time!
