TOUR

Basque-ing

By Caitlin McQuinna

Along the coast that straddles the border between France and Spain, Michelin-starred restaurants compete with smoky tapas bars, bohemian surfers share the beach with designer-bag-totting glitterati and a cacophony of French, Spanish and Basque fills the air.

Once the playground of celebrities and Euro royalty in its 1960s heyday, sleepy, seaside Biarritz, in the southwest corner of France, now attracts the young, tanned and toned. Find them at the Côte des Basques beach, which hosts the annual Biarritz Surf Festival, one of Europe’s premier surf events. The original surf shop, BTZ Clothing, offers lessons through Hastea, a surfing school run by the shop’s owner.

After battling the waves, revivify at L’Instant, a tiny restaurant run by a husband-and-wife team serving seasonal dishes in the historic old town. Epicureans take note: Philippe Lafargue, one of Alaine Ducasse’s acolytes, serves some of the region’s most exciting Basque cuisine at his eponymous Chez Philippe. Try the degustation menu, which features locally raised proteins with herbs from the restaurant’s garden.

Those planning to spend more time sunning and splashing than pondering bed-sheet thread counts should check in at La Maison du Lierre, a comfortable B&B, five minutes from the beach. If you’d rather opt for haute, there’s the Hôtel du Palais, a 152-room hotel along the Grande Plage that was once the palace of Napoleon III’s Spanish-born wife, Eugénie.

When it’s time for a change of pace (or language), head 40 minutes down the coast to San Sebastián in Spain. You’ll find one of Europe’s most magnificent shorelines. A long promenade along Concha, the main beach, is lined with flowered balconies and whitewashed cafés. It’s a communal space where you might see, say, a ballet lesson conducted over loudspeakers with thousands of dancers using the seawall railing as a makeshift bar.

Walk west toward Ondarreta Beach, past tennis courts and old-money villas, and pause for lunch at Branka, a contemporary restaurant with floor-to-ceiling sea views. Or stroll east from Concha, past the enormous, light-box-like Kursaal Auditorium, and you’ll eventually hit Zurriola Beach, a rugged bay with big waves for die-hard surfers.

The surf here rivals anywhere in Europe, but most visitors come for the food. With one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars in the world, San Sebastián has earned a reputation for the kind of high-tech cuisine that foodies speak of in hushed, reverent tones (think dusts, vapors, powders). One of the scene’s hottest chefs is Andoni Luis Aduriz, who brought his El Bulli pedigree to Mugaritz. Before you visit any of the Young Turks, though, be sure to pay due respect to Juan Mari Arzak, the father of modern Basque cooking (and mentor of Ferran Adrià), at his eponymous three-star institution.

There’s a lot more to San Sebastián’s food culture than fine dining, so revel in the contrasts. Pintxos, tapas-like hors d’oeuvres, are served in bars all over San Sebastián. In historic Parte Vieja, you’ll find a cluster of pocket-size pintxos bars, each specializing in a particular dish or ingredient. Bar Txepetxa, for example, is all about anchovies, serving them with 20-odd toppings. Bar Ganbara is home to wild mushrooms, and La Cepa is famous for the pata negra ham from Jabugo that hangs from the ceiling.

Budget-conscious travelers will do well at Hotel Niza, a charming (but basic) beachfront hotel, all sunny yellows and azure blues. Be sure to book a Belle Epoque room with a terrace that overlooks Concha Beach; the street side is noisy. The more luxurious option is the Hotel María Cristina, San Sebastián’s grande dame, with rooms decorated in the late-18th-century Reina Ana style.

(Caitlin McQuinna is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, foodie and curling enthusiast.)

Useful info

L'instant, 4, rue Port Vieux, Biarritz, 33-5-59-24-8465
Txepetxa, Pescaderiá, 5, San Sebastián, 34-94-342-2227
Bar Ganbara, San Jerónimo, 21, San Sebastián, 34-943-422-575

TOP IMAGE: ALEXANDRU DUMITRESCU