Castles · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
1 Château d'Abbadia (Domaine d'Abbadia)
The Abbadia estate forms a promontory with superb views over the ocean and also over the hinterland.
View full page →What to see in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in 3 days
The Pyrénées-Atlantiques combine the Basque Country, Béarn, the Atlantic coast and the high mountains. You will find colourful villages, gorges, caves and peaks.
This itinerary spreads the best-rated sites in the catalogue over three days.
Our day-by-day itinerary
The map shows the numbered stops in visiting order, with one colour per day. The line follows the roads where available; otherwise it joins the stops as the crow flies. Distances and times are approximate (by car, without traffic).
Day 1 — Château d'Abbadia (Domaine d'Abbadia) to Sare
This day brings together 3 sites close to each other: castles, natural wonders and villages. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Natural wonders · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
2 La Corniche Basque
The Basque Corniche is a unique natural site. It is 6 km long on the part belonging to Urrugne.
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Villages · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
3 Sare
A high place of wood-pigeon hunting, Sare cherishes the country's traditions and cross-border life.
View full page →Day 2 — Biarritz to La Grotte d'Harpéa
This day brings together 3 sites close to each other: towns and cities and caves. It passes through Biarritz and Bayonne. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Towns & cities · Biarritz
4 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.
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Towns & cities · Bayonne
5 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.
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Caves · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
6 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.
View full page →Day 3 — Canyons d'holzarté et d'Olhadubi to Château de Pau
This day brings together 6 sites close to each other: natural wonders, waterfalls and lakes. It passes through Sainte-Engrâce and Laruns. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Waterfalls · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
7 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.
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Natural wonders · Sainte-Engrâce
8 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.
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Natural wonders · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
9 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...
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Lakes · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
10 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.
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Natural wonders · Laruns
11 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.
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Castles · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
12 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.
View full page →When to go
From June to September the mountains are accessible. Spring and autumn suit the coast and the hinterland well. In winter, the mountains are snowy, and some access roads are closed.
Getting around
A car is essential to link the coast and the mountains. Mountain roads are slow. Biarritz and Bayonne are explored on foot.
Our tips
- Check the mountain weather before setting off on a hike.
- Pack a waterproof layer: the weather changes quickly.
- Taste Espelette pepper, sheep's cheese and local produce.
- Respect local traditions and private property.
If you have more time
Villages · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
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.
Villages · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Ainhoa
It is one of the most typical villages of the Basque Country.
Caves · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
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.
Natural wonders · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pas de Roland
Itxassou is a small village in the heart of the Basque Country, near the Spanish border.
Villages · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
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.
Natural wonders · Pyrénées-Atlantiques
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.
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