Surfing is the best way to see the French Pays Basque coast

The beaches are a big draw at Biarritz. | Fiona Laing

The thunder of the water envelopes me, I adjust my balance as the wave breaks: I’m surfing. It’s only virtual reality but I’m told it feels like the real thing.

On the surf-obsessed French Basque coast, this is a great way to see what it’s all about. I’m in Cité de l’Océan in Biarritz, on Virtual Surf, an amazing bit of tech which lets you ride the waves without getting wet.

Briefed on the moves to make, kitted out in a VR headset and watched by a camera which detects my movements, I am riding the famous Belharra wave which draws surfers from all over the world.

Today, the breath-taking French coast of the Bay of Biscay is a magnet for surfers. But it wasn’t always so.

Today, the breath-taking French coast of the Bay of Biscay is a magnet for surfers. Pic: Fiona Laing | Fiona Laing

Say Biarritz to many people and you’ll conjure up the image of a French holiday destination – probably at the end of the 19th century. After all, Napoleon III and his empress Eugénie had built a palace there and their patronage attracted the cream of

European society, including Queen Victoria.

That turn-of-the century glamour is still evident today, but Biarritz has another side. It is said that in the 1950s Dick Zanuck, a Californian film producer and surfer working in the area, saw the potential of the sport popular in America.

Today surfers riding the Atlantic waves – and the dramatic cliffs they pound – are a bonus for land-based visitors.

There are six beaches in Biarritz – and many more in the adjoining towns and villages – which draw the rubber-clad aqua gymnasts who put on the surfing show.

Earlier, I’d tried the Surf Sensation 5D where the moving surf board, VR mask, wind and sea spray gave me my first taste of the waves. Cité de l’Océan is an unusual attraction – I’m here for the VR but find a thought-provoking space filled with activities and exhibits which reveal the science and beauty of the ocean.

There’s a focus on sustainability and conservation, but that doesn’t stop you having fun. I see real-life surfing lessons close up on the Côte des Basques beach where Pol Plantec founded the Hastea surf school in 1995. Children are finding their feet in the shallows, while further out the more experienced polish their technique.

With a lifetime of surfing, Pol assures me it’s never too late to learn so I find myself promising to return to put him to the test ... on another visit.

I didn’t go to Biarritz to learn to surf – I went to explore the Atlantic’s answer to Nice and Monte Carlo. Direct flights from Edinburgh to the delightfully small Biarritz airport are an added bonus.

Direct flights from Edinburgh to the delightfully small Biarritz airport put the French Atlantic resort within reach. Pic: Fiona Laing | Fiona Laing

Avoiding summer crowds is the best way to get under the skin of the chic town, but I do find myself drawn to the water’s edge. In September it’s often still warm enough to sit on the beach and the tides are strong enough to entice the surfers to make a spectacular sunset scene.

The 248 steps to the top of the lighthouse offer a sense of the coast’s grandeur. It sweeps north along the forest-fringed beaches to the mouth of the Adour River on which Bayonne sits, and beyond to the dunes of Les Landes. And then south along the town beaches and the rocky Basque coast towards Spain 30km away, with the peaks of the Pyrenees on the horizon (on a clear day).

In use since 1834, the 47m tall lighthouse stands on Saint Martin point and can be seen 40km out to sea thanks to its cliff-top position.

From the lighthouse I head south past Eugénie’s palace (now the swanky Hôtel du Palais), the Grande Plage and the Casino, and on to the fishermen’s port snug beneath the cliffs. To have one of the 65 ‘crampottes’ (small fishing cottages) in the Port des Pêcheurs, you need to be a resident of Biarritz, own a boat in the harbour and gain a licence from the town council. The pretty little port developed after the first breakwater was built in 1837 and by the 20th century the fishermen were allowed to create their little houses to store their fishing equipment and salt sardines.

Further along the coast, I come to the dramatic 1920s Aquarium where fish darting about in their tanks are quite mesmerising. Then, as I climb the art deco staircase through the building, the coastal views reveal themselves. There’s a welcome coffee shop and fascinating glass-walled spaces filled with cruising sharks, stingrays and lumbering turtles.

The 1920s Aquarium has a fascinating display of aquatic creatures. Pic: Fiona Laing | Fiona Lain

However, it is the rocks opposite the Aquarium that are my personal Basque magnet: I keep being drawn to the Rocher de la Vierge – the Boucalot. I know I’m not alone as it is omni-present on Instagram.

The rock formations along the coast are popular with tourists in Biarritz. Pic: Fiona Laing | Fiona Laing

I have to add my own post from the amazing natural picture frame before crossing the narrow bridge to the tunnel through the rock. Legend has it fishermen were returning with a whale when they were accosted by a Siren who transformed herself into a Gorgon and cast a powerful spell. As the moon rose, all that remained of the whale was the Boucalot, and of the fishermen, only the surrounding rocks. Since 1865 a bronze statue of a virgin has kept watch over Biarritz’s sailors from the top of the rock.

After all that drama, I stop for lunch at Les Baigneuses, overlooking the small Plage Port Vieux and feast on line-caught hake filet which flakes into its clam broth, pearl barley, broccoli and assorted greens. The sunshine and people watching on the roof terrace demand a sweet treat. The fig carpaccio comes with delicious lemon cream and fresh yoghurt sorbet, dressed with a delicate tuile leaf.

Fresh hake at Les Baigneuses restaurant, Biarritz. Pic: Fiona Laing | Fiona Laing

In truth, the sun doesn’t always shine on a Basque spring or autumn and I am pleased to more museums to explore.

The Musée Asiatica is bursting with treasures collected by Michel Postel, an avid amasser of Asian artefacts who turned his passion into a museum. There’s almost too much to take in, but you can’t fail to find an exotic gem to love and for me it is an intricately-carved ivory elephant procession.

In the heart of the town, close to the shops and bustling market hall, is the Historical Museum at Eglise Saint Andrew, which focuses on Biarritz, with a fascinating insight into how the whaling community transformed into chic resort and surfing hangout.

FACT FILE

Ryanair flies twice a week April-October from Edinburgh (and some English and Irish airports) to Biarritz. www.ryanair.com

Les Baigneuses https://www.lesbaigneusesdebiarritz.com/en/

Biarritz Aquarium www.aquariumbiarritz.com

The Cité de l’Océan https://www.citedelocean.com/en/

Musée historique de Biarritz www.musee-historique-biarritz.fr

Musée Asiatica https://www.musee-asiatica.com/ ]

Pay Basque Tourism www.tourisme64.com

Explore France www.france.fr