Biarritz, France: our first stop at the Atlantic Ocean

Cherries and sandwiches on the beach

From Carcassonne to Burgos, before crossing the Pyrenees, we decided to stop at the Atlantic Ocean for a quick lunch. We chose Biarritz (France) on a whim and were very happy with the experience.

It happens that we often listen to our intuition and go with the flow, reaching spontaneous destinations. Even though we planned most of our trip, we still wanted to leave space for surprises along the way.

Biarritz was one of them.

We parked our car in a designated parking place, called Indigo, Rue Mazagran. Here we could pay by BIP&GO, the electronic toll payment badge. The Bip&Go badge works in all car parks that are equipped with an electronic toll payment system and indicated by an orange “t” symbol. It is a very useful system and it is valid in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy for the paying motorways.

We had a quick lunch made of ham sandwiches and cherries bought at Grand Frais Carcassonne and settled a bit on the beach watching the kids running around. The boys got totally wet playing in the waves. Their happiness was intoxicating.

Our 2-year-old was not too happy with the cold water. She was eating cherries happily. Soon after having lunch, she wanted to go and explore further.

As we had little time, we visited the Rock of Basta, a scenic rock and major landmark.

Le Basta is situated at the extremity of the Port des pêcheurs, from which you can descend towards the Grande Plage. It is special due to its fairytale bridge.and the tamarisk. It is one of the three usual places for summer fireworks in Biarritz.

We crossed a bridge built from the shore to the rock.

From the top, we could enjoy the exceptional view of the ocean and the city.

After visiting the rock, we wanted to get back to our car. But the street was blocked by a Pride Parade. There were loud music, dancing and so many people dressed in costumes. It was quite a sight to watch.

The kids were super happy and interested in the whole thing. They asked plenty of questions. We told them it is each person’s right to express their views and to be able to choose what they believe in.

I took more videos than photos, so these are the only photos I can show you from the Parade.

This was Biarritz for us:

• a city full of personality, a mix of Basque, French, and Spanish
• a marvelous mixture of old and new, a historical place with whaling origins.

The next stop on our trip

We left Biarritz and continued our trip to Burgos crossing the rainy Pyrenees Mountains into Spain.

Stay tuned for the next story in this series.

• Have you been to Biarritz?
• Have you tried the Atlantic Ocean in Southern France?
• Or maybe you went surfing on the coast of France?

Let me know in the comments if you have experienced French Southern culture.

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Stay human, be loved,

Gabby

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***I originally published this article on Medium.***

Thank you for reading! Your support means a lot and fuels our passion for travel and my motivation to write about our experiences. It takes me a few hours to craft an article about various travels, and we do travel quite a lot! So expect more in the future :)

I write about our travels with kids and our parenting journey. We hope to raise money for our next trip this coming summer. We plan another road trip across Europe to reach the Atlantic again.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for all the stories in this Portugal Trip series and other travels with our kids, too.

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