Biarritz Private Jet Charters

The famous French beach resort of Biarritz grew from the small French whaling and fishing port of Port Vieux. After finding favor with royalty, it became a fashionable getaway for titled and wealthy Europeans. Today, Biarritz offers moderately priced accommodation alongside elegant hotels and villas. It’s now as well-known for surfing, golfing and spas as it is for its beaches and history.

Biarritz lies on the Basque coast of southwestern France, close to the Spanish border. It forms one metropolis with adjacent towns Bayonne and Anglet, and the biggest population center in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, with 167,000 residents. The second largest is Pau, with around 76,000 residents.

Generally, summers are warm and winters mild, but its position between the Pyrénées and the Bay of Biscay can make the weather unpredictable. Although it gets 1,920 hours of sunshine per year, it can be very rainy.

Biarritz is a multifaceted resort, and it’s been given many titles by its devotees.

‘The Queen of Resorts and the Resort of Kings’: After Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie began to patronize Biarritz, other royalty followed, including Queen Victoria, Edward VII, and Alfonso XIII of Spain. Eugénie’s summer palace built next to the sea, ‘Villa Eugénie’, is now the five-star Hôtel du Palais. Biarritz has numerous historic houses and villas, many in belle époque and art deco style.

‘Queen of the Greens’: Biarritz’s to-class golf courses include:

•  Europe’s second-oldest golf course in the town center, Le Golf du Phare (constructed in 1888).

•  Four golf schools in the Centre International d’Entraînement d’Ilbarritz, with ocean views.

‘Queen of the Beaches’: Biarritz’s wonderful beaches include Grande Plage, with children’s beach clubs and the royal palace, and La Côte Des Basques, popular with surfers.

‘European Surfing Capital’: In 1957, a Californian friend of film director Peter Viertel, who was working in Biarritz, was supposedly the first person to surf in Europe. The sport caught on quickly. Today, there are multiple surfing schools, and surfing is integral to Biarritz’s culture and economy.

Biarritz is also known for:

• Sport, with notable facilities for rugby and Basque pelota, and the Musée Historique du Biarritz Olympique covering sporting history.

• Thalassoptherapy: treatments using seawater, algae and mud.

• The beautiful Lac Mouriscot and Lac Marion, just outside the town.

• Historic attractions, including the Musée Historique de Biarritz, the Lighthouse, the Musée Asiatica, and Rocher de la Vierge.

• Marine attractions, such as Aquarium de Biarritz (one of the biggest aquariums in France) and Cité de l’Océan.

• Its casino seafront.

Nearby universities include the University of Pau and the Adour Region, which has campuses in Bayonne and Anglet, and the Basque Country Higher School of Art.