Bayonne France
Frequently Asked Questions
At Quai Edmond-Foy, right downtown. Unusually for the Atlantic coast, ships come up the Adour river into the city. The cathedral is a fifteen-minute walk along the quays.
Sainte-Marie cathedral and its cloister, the arcades of Rue du Port-Neuf for chocolate, the covered market by the water, then across the Nive into Petit Bayonne. The whole call fits between the two rivers.
Because chocolate entered France through this city. In the seventeenth century, Jewish families driven from the Iberian peninsula settled on the banks of the Nive with their chocolate-making skills. Under the arcades of Rue du Port-Neuf, several houses founded in the nineteenth century still serve frothy chocolate whisked the old way.
Sainte-Marie is a World Heritage site as part of the Santiago pilgrimage routes. The Gothic interior is lit by Renaissance stained glass and opens onto a thirteenth-century cloister, one of the largest in France, with old Gothic tomb recesses under the galleries.
At Les Halles, the covered market beside the water, where it is sliced to order. It is cured in the Adour basin. Add sheep's cheese from the valleys, Espelette pepper and gâteau basque still warm.
The quarter on the right bank of the Nive: narrow facades, pintxos bars and painted murals. It is the district of the August festivals and the pelota clubs, with a noticeably livelier feel than the merchant left bank.
The richest collection devoted to Basque culture: makilas, recreated interiors, musical instruments and the maritime memory of the port. It occupies a seventeenth-century merchant's house; an hour goes by fast.
By frequent bus or taxi, about ten kilometres. That said, many passengers prefer to stay between the two rivers: Bayonne easily fills a day on its own.
A light umbrella in the bottom of the bag: the Atlantic climate has its habits, even in summer. Plan a day without a car, since everything is walkable, and bring an appetite.
The euro. French everywhere, Basque on signs and in conversation: Bayonne is the capital of the French Basque Country. Cards work in shops and at the market.
