Bayonne Travel Articles & Travelogues

FRANCE TRAVEL ARTICLES

BAYONNE May 1995

It was dull when we arrived in Bayonne on 29th May. We had a brief look around the city centre and then headed off to book into the Hotel Ibis. We discovered later that it would have been cheaper and more convenient staying in the best hotel in the town centre, as they had a special offer for the weekend. Our hotel was in the Saint-Esprit area.

Once we had booked in, we went to look around the city centre. The twin towers of the cathedral dominated the town, which was built on the Adour River and its tributary. We had to cross both travelling from our hotel into the centre. There were several pleasant streets with tall timbered buildings around the cathedral area. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t too good. Apart from the occasional break in the clouds, it was becoming increasingly gloomy.

We wandered around for a little longer, but soon began to indulge in our favourite occupation… Well, the second favourite – the first has always been eating! We found that many of the better restaurants seemed to be in Petit Bayonne, the area between our hotel and the city centre.
We eventually decided to try François Miura. The place was rather twee but we had a pleasant meal there which cost around £50. We should have gone back there the following evening, but that’s another story.

The next day, we decided to travel further afield as we were not particularly enamoured with Bayonne. We set off to Biarritz and loved the atmosphere of the old, slightly run down resort. As we were standing looking out to sea, we suddenly saw a storm moving in over the water. Within a short time, the rain was pelting down and the waves were lashing the shore. It was quite a sight.

Reluctantly, we decided we would have to leave further exploration of Biarritz for another occasion. It was time to venture into Spain. The rain followed us along the coast past Saint-Jean-de-Luz, all the way to San Sebastian.

We parked the car, got some pesetas from a telling machine and found a tapas bar for lunch. We had a pleasant light meal at Bolivar, before leaving to see a little of this attractive coastal town. Of course, the break in the weather didn’t last long. We managed to see the statue of Don Quixote and his faithful friend, and had a glimpse of an attractive beach area. But then it was time to take cover again and head back to France.

We were stopped briefly by the police on our way back into France, but we didn’t discover what they were looking for. They seemed to be stopping all foreign cars. By the time we arrived back in Bayonne, the weather was at least dry and we were ready for dinner.

Auberge du Cheval Blanc did not provide one of the better meals of our holiday. The place was very pretentious and the food was not particularly good. To our amazement it has since been awarded a Michelin star. I can only assume that the Michelin man was there on a far better night. We didn’t feel we would be rushing back to Bayonne, although Biarritz and San Sebastian were both worth another visit.