Indagare Tour: Classic Biarritz

The cute seaside town of Biaritz can easily be explored on foot and in a leisurely half-day walking tour. Start at the Hotel du Palais and walk along the promenade above the Grande Plage for great vistas and people watching. You will pass the Casino du Biarritz on your right. Snake up into the hillside, still continuing along the shore, until you get to the sweet Port des Pecheurs, home to small wooden houses called crampottes that now house rustic little restaurants (the one to know about is Crampotte 30). Climbing higher still, you will soon have soaring vistas across the coast as you walk onward towards the Rocher de la Vierge, the rocky outpost with a Virgin Mary sculpture, which was installed in 1864 to ensure the safe-keeping of the town's fishermen. This is also where the Musée de la Mer is located.

Continue along the street as it snakes past the Port Vieux, where you will always find locals swimming (the water is calmer here than at Grand Plage). Walk into town along Rue du Port Vieux, passing cute shops, cafés and bars along the way. Rue du Port Vieux turns into Rue Mazagran, where you will find the towns' two best shops for espadrilles. You are now in the middle of the historic center, with meandering little streets and lots of cute spots for a break along the way. The area around Les Halles market is especially fun to explore. Stop for a coffee at Milwaukee Café before making your way back to the Hotel du Palais by walking towards the casino and along the water. Stop at the corner of Rue Lavernis and Rue de Gardère: the imposing stone building here served as Coco Chanel's atelier from 1915 through 1939 when the incomparable designer employed sixty workers here.