In Côte des Basques, from Biarritz the road runs by way of the little seaside resort of Bidart and the attractive little town of Guéthary, situated on rising ground above the Atlantic - a fashionable seaside and climatic resort which has preserved its original Basque character - to St-Jean-de-Luz (pop. 13,000). Since the Middle Ages this has been an important fishing port, from which ships were sailing to Newfoundland, Canada, Hudson Bay, Greenland and Spitzbergen in the 13th and 14th centuries. Since World War II the main activity of the port has been tunny-fishing. It is also a popular bathing and winter resort.
In Place Louis-XIV is the Maison Lohbiague, in which Louis XIV lived when he came here to marry Maria Teresa, daughter of Philip IV of Spain; it is now a museum, with period furniture.
Address: Maison Louis XIV, Place Louis XIV, F-64500 St Jean de Luz, France
Hours:
June 1 to June 30: 10:30am-12pm, 2:30pm-5:30pm; Closed: Sun
July 1 to August 31: 10:30am-12pm, 2:30pm-6:30pm; Closed: Sun, Sun
September 2 to September 30: 10am-12pm, 2:30pm-5:30pm; Closed: Sun, Sun, Sun
The church of St-Jean-Baptiste, originally built in the 13th C but much altered in later centuries, still preserves a typically Basque interior; the three-story oak gallery in the nave is a later addition.