Call +44 (0)1395 576655
or email for information & booking
Alternative Aquitaine logo
  Home > Destinations > French Basque Country Holiday Rentals > St jean de Luz Holiday Rentals > St Jean de Luz tourist info

St Jean de Luz holiday accommodation and resort report
What are you looking for?

> Our collection of holiday villas in St Jean de Luz

> All of our holiday rentals in St Jean de Luz

> Our resort report for St Jean de Luz (scroll down)

> A tourist information guide to St Jean de Luz

Apologies for this old-fashioned web page. We are in the process of updating this section of our website - Justin & Alex
St Jean de Luz
Erromardie surfing beach
St Jean de Luz Grande Plage
St Jean de Luz street
View from la Rhune

St Jean de Luz
Alternative Aquitaine's resort report


Similar to...
For guidance, we think St Jean de Luz is similar to Collioure in France, or Padstow, St Ives, Dartmouth, even Lyme Regis in the UK. These all feature an active harbour, lovely restaurants with a 'foody' culture and real a passion for seafood. They are all relatively 'chic' destinations too, but authentic, not pretentious.
Five Reasons to Choose St Jean de Luz
1
 Superb, safe sandy beach ideal for younger kids
2
 Capital of Basque cuisine with many excellent restaurants
3
 Try golf, surfing, watersports, thalassotherapy, horse-riding, etc
4
 Explore neighbouring Spain - San Sebastian is 'a must'

5

 Discover the charming Basque Country villages and landscape

"St Jean de Luz sits on a stunning bay on the Basque coast, near the Spanish border, and is famed for its play of ligh on the golden sand and whitewashed buildings, with the Pyrenees gleaming in the background. Popular with Basque families, it's also a working fishing port...hence the slew of excellent restaurants." Sunday Times 24.04.10

"For those who do not naturally gravitate towards the sun and fun of the beach, a seaside resort needs a special, intangible quality. Like the theatre, a good resort must be able to make one suspend one's disbelief. In all of southern France, there are very few places that can do this: one is Collioure on the Mediterranean, another St Jean de Luz." "Bilbao & The Basque Lands" by Cadogan Guides
 
St Jean de Luz - highlights
To the French, St Jean de Luz is one of the nation’s coastal jewels. Beyond France however, this delightful holiday resort and fishing port is known by surprisingly few people – but it is adored by those that do.

With the more famous resort of Biarritz just a few kms up the coast, St Jean de Luz has lived – contentedly – in the shadows of its more illustrious neighbour. To the Basques of St Jean de Luz, Biarritz is practically a foreign land!

In fact, arriving in St Jean de Luz you might well wonder if you are in France at all. This is where France meets Spain and the mix on this side of the Pyrénées creates a distinctly different ambience. This is French Basque Country.

The relative secrecy of this far south western corner of France has served St Jean de Luz well. Whilst it is an ever-popular French holiday destination, the town is also a working port and bustling shopping centre and consequently it is alive and vibrant all year round.

St Jean de Luz suits the discerning traveller: whilst the sandy beaches are excellent for families, this is not a “bucket and spade” resort - the Basques and the fishermen would never allow this! It’s for those who want to experience active and varied days and relax in the evening and enjoy a meal in one of the many brasseries and bistrots which line the town’s enchanting back streets.

The location is enviable, set in a horse-shoe bay with a beautiful sandy beach and a backdrop of the western Pyrénées, peaked by La Rhune, the mythical Basque mountain. This combination of ocean and mountain landscapes is a unique draw and also helps to keep St Jean de Luz surprisingly mild in winter.

More than that, the landscape and vibrant Basque architecture produce a combination of light and colour that gives St Jean de Luz a special, intangible, quality that is matched in only a few other places in France. Little wonder it’s one of our favourite resorts.
St Jean de Luz - Our Personal Favourites
•
 Lazy days on the town's lovely beach
•
 A pintxos (tapas) supper washed down with the local brew - Oldarki
•
 Shopping! The main street is lined with alluring boutiques
•
 Watching a cesta punta contest at the Jai Alai complex
•
 18 holes of golf at Chantaco

 
Select another resort in Aquitaine...
Select a region in Aquitaine...
Select an activity in Aquitaine...
Similar to in Britain & France?
St Jean de Luz -
client comments
“The town is an upmarket ‘boutique’ town – very clean and tidy. The shops are excellent but expensive and the town beaches were excellent too. There are no touristy-type shops and the restaurants were very good.”
 (Mr N Oxley, 2006)

St Jean de Luz - Out of Season
French resorts tend to be very seasonal and this can often come as a surprise to visitors who are less familiar with France. Owners of seasonal business such as bars and restaurants can often get by simply by operating in two months of the year - July & August - and are happy to shut down the rest of the year.

St Jean de Luz is a working fishing report with a reasonably large permanent population. As such, whilst the town is throbbing in August, it also remains comparatively active all-year-round.


Find out more in our St Jean de Luz tourist information guide. Topics covered include beaches, activities such as golf and surfing, kids' attractions, restaurants, cultural attractions and more...