Surfing Biarritz. Biarritz is a surfing paradise on France's westcoast. Biarritz has some of France's best surfing beaches, and the rest of the surfing beaches are in near proximity on the surfing westcoast (ie Hossegor)
"Surfing Biarritz is fantastic!" a surfer friend of mine exclaimed enthusiastically here the other day. Biarritz is a very popular surfing paradise on France's westcoast.
If you're stationed in Europe or the UK, and don't want to spend your whole budget on airline tickets and transportation; then Biarritz might be the surf destination for you. It's located on the west coast of France, which is world famous for its surf spots. The coast stretches from La Rochelle in the north to Biarritz in the south.
However, Biarritz is not a cheap town to live in, so if you got a tight budget you might want to head a bit further north.
THE TOWN Biarritz is a tiny city which houses 30000 inhabitants, it is well known for it's idyllic location and friendly atmosphere. And first and foremost, it is known as the "European surf capital". Not saying that it's the best place to surf in Europe, but it's definitly up there.
WAVES In Biarritz there are two main waves: Cote De Basque and Grand Plage. Which are not of the same quality of Anglet in the north and Guethary in the south, but on good days they are very, very clean. And you should be able to sniff up lots of clean lines.
Cote De Basque: Located next to the spectacular Biarritz castle, which was built for Baron Albert de l'Espée, so that he could use it to house the biggest organ ever designed for a single person. Well, that's a good use of a castle now, isn't it? The place must have been rocking when the Baron invited the priviliged, such as Hertug Lorang and Stian Von Friesenhof III, to a full-blown organ party. CTB has some of the most popular waves in the area, so, naturally, you will find lots of different people and skill-levels here. It is especially popular with those just starting to surf, as the more experienced surfers tend to head to Anglet.
Grand Plage: Located close to Cote De Basque, literally speaking right around the corner from it, in the middle of Biarritz. It's easy to find. A beachbreak which is heavilly used by the the slightly more skilled surfers, but it is still rated as a beginners spot. The waves breaks in both left- and right direction. Can get extremely crowded, by both locals and visiting surfers.
Here's a map from www.wannasurf.com, which shows the locations of the waves mentioned above, and also nearby surfing spots in the area:
