What's all this about "snobbish" ?

For the most part, I see rave reviews from people who visited Biarritz... beautiful, ocean, beaches, what more could you ask for...

But there are sometimes other words thrown in... aristocratic... snobbish... fashionable...

These things don%26#39;t seem to mesh with a surfer%26#39;s mecca to me... can anyone who has been to Biarritz describe the real %26quot;feel%26quot; of this city?

Thanks :)

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Biarritz is the posh place of the Atlantic south west coast: nice hotels %26amp; restaurants, expensive shops %26amp; cars...The top. It%26#39;s a really pretty town and worth going to.

I think the beaches are well known to french %26amp; foreign surfers because of the big surf competition, ie the surfer%26#39;s mecca.

However, as soon as you come out of Biarritz, it is much cooler and easy going.

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We visited Biarritz for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I can see where most of those descriptions come from- it%26#39;s quite eclectic.

Guess it depends which part you%26#39;re talking about- Biarritz centre or the Biarritz area.

Biarritz centre is an attractive town with a slightly genteel feel to it. There is a lot of fairly grand Victorian architecture, promenades and quite a few expensive hotels and fashionable shops, in contrast to an attractive working port and market area .There are restaurants of all ilks from Michelin starred to cafe and people of all sorts from chic to casual. The overall atmosphere we found was fairly relaxed, seaside, but can imagine if there an influx of rich parisiens it could get a bit %26quot;snobbish%26quot;

It seems more old fashioned than many areas in the south of France.

There are also 5 beaches, the ones right in the centre are definitely town beaches,sunbathing only, but the Biarritz boundaries stretch quite a way and on the perimeter are a couple of good surfing beaches. The further away from the centre of town you are, the more laid back it gets and the more surfers you see - hence the annual surfing competitions held there. The neighbouring area of Anglet has more surfing beaches and very close by is Hossegor which is much more laid back again and definitely a surfers%26#39; mecca.

Overall we liked Biarritz - it definitely grows on you, and has something for everyone. Can be pricey though in the centre, hotels especially.

Hope this helps

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Traditionally Biarritz was a very aristocratic and snobbish place many years ago when the English and Russian royal families and their aristocratic chums stayed there for holidays, and built suitable accommodation for themselves around the town. (The Russians built their own church which is still there and open to the public). However, it then went into decline rather when the rich and famous headed off to the French Riviera (1950s), but seems to have surfaced again as a smart holiday resort for both the well off but also the young surfing crowd which, to us, made for a very nice atmosphere. We visited for 5 days in July 07 and had a great time. The point made about the cost of the hotels in the centre is correct, they are expensive, from memory we paid 200 euros a night for a sea view room at the Mercure Biarritz centre - good hotel by the way.

So you will see well dressed Parisian ladies with their poodles but also surfers in jeans and tee shirts around town. We really liked Biarritz and the surrounding area (Bayonne, St. Jean de Luz, Ainhoa, Sare etc.) were ideal for visiting and getting a flavour of the Basque Country.

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