Pyrénées-Atlantiques: what to see and do
55 sites listed in the département. Between the Basque Country and the Béarn, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques combine the surfing coast of Biarritz, typical villages such as Espelette and Pyrenean peaks around the Ossau massif. This cultural and geographical variety makes it a département of many identities.
Biarritz
A chic seaside resort of the Basque Country, cradle of European surfing, whose Grande Plage and Rocher de la Vierge overlook the Atlantic Ocean.
Canyons d'holzarté et d'Olhadubi
South of Larrau, these are the Holzarté and Olhadubi gorges. Few dare to explore this canyon, so narrow, inhospitable and deep.
Château d'Abbadia (Domaine d'Abbadia)
The Abbadia estate forms a promontory with superb views over the ocean and also over the hinterland.
Col d'Aubisque
A mythical Pyrenean pass at 1,709 metres, the scene in 1910 of the first high-mountain stage in the history of the Tour de France.
La Corniche Basque
The Basque Corniche is a unique natural site. It is 6 km long on the part belonging to Urrugne.
Bayonne
Historic capital of the Basque Labourd at the confluence of the Adour and the Nive, whose Gothic cathedral overlooks a district of colourful half-timbered houses.
Château de Pau
It was probably before the eleventh century that the first wooden fortification was built, on a rocky spur between the Gave de Pau and one of its tributaries, the Hédas.
Gorges de Kakuetta
A spectacular 2 km canyon in Haute-Soule, with walls reaching 350 metres high, discovered in 1906 by the speleologist Édouard-Alfred Martel.
La Grotte d'Harpéa
The Harpéa cave is a rock shelter in the commune of Estérençuby, in Basse-Navarre, at about 850 metres' altitude, a few metres from the Spanish border.
Ainhoa
It is one of the most typical villages of the Basque Country.
Aquarium de Biarritz
Château d'Eliçabéa
Château d'Urtubie
Château de Bellocq
Château de Bidache
Château de Marracq
Château de Mauléon
Château de Montaner
Château de Morlanne
Cité de l'Océan
Fort du Portalet
Gave de Brousset
Grotte de La Verna - gouffre de La Pierre Saint Martin
Grotte de Sare
Grottes d'Isturitz et d'Oxocelhaya
Neanderthal man was the first tenant of this place, a point of convergence of the Franco-Cantabrian world at the foot of the Pyrenees. Cro-Magnon, our ancestor, a cave artist, tinkerer and inventor of tools that would change the face of the world, then succeeded him.
Hôtel du Palais
La Bastide-Clairence
The village was founded in 1283 with the building of a fortified house on the banks of the Joyeuse, a river that flows to join the Adour.
La Falaise aux Vautours
La Rhune
La Rhune can be seen from all beaches within 100 km! Its panorama extends, on the French side alone, from the Landes to the central Pyrenees.
La grande plage d’Hendaye
Hendaye's Grande Plage is one of the largest beaches on the Basque Coast. It stretches over several kilometres along Hendaye's seafront, only a few steps from Spain.
Lac du Montagnon
Lac et cascade d'Anglas
Lacs d'Ayous
A superb walk that will take you from lake to lake and offer you a unique panorama of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau.
Lapiaz des Arres d'Anie
Le Cirque de Lescun
The Lescun cirque is a natural site shaped by glaciers and bounded by limestone peaks with legendary names such as the Table des Trois Rois or the Aiguilles d'Ansabère, the Camplong organ pipes...
Le Petit Train de la Rhune
Le Pont Vieux d'Orthez
The Old Bridge, a dream jewel in its setting of rocks and running water, with its tower and unequal arches, was born in the 13th and 14th centuries; it was begun by Gaston VII of Moncade when he made Orthez the capital of Béarn and moved his court there.
Le chemin de la Mâture
Maison Louis XIV
Musée Asiatica
Musée Basque et Histoire de Bayonne
Musée Bonnat-Helleu à Bayonne
Musée du Béret à Nay
A unique museum in the world. The establishment making berets since 1819 has opened a museum devoted to the history and making of the most famous and emblematic headgear of France.
Musée national du Château de Pau
Navarrenx
Navarrenx, the first bastioned town in France, raises its centuries-old ramparts that inspired Vauban in the heart of the Pays d'Art et d'Histoire of the Béarn des Gaves.
Parc Animalier de Borce
Parc aquatique Aqua Béarn
The Aqua Béarn water park gives you every opportunity to relax and have fun.
Pas de Roland
Itxassou is a small village in the heart of the Basque Country, near the Spanish border.
All sites (7)
- Plage de la Côte des Basques · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- Sare · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- Source de la bidouze · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- WoWPark · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- Zoo d'Asson · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- Pau · Pyrénées-Atlantiques