Resort Guides › France › Atlantic Coast
France’s grand old Atlantic surf resort, with genuine 19th-century seaside elegance.
Overview
Biarritz built its reputation as a genteel 19th-century seaside resort for European royalty, and has since become France’s best-known surf town, combining wide Atlantic beaches and world-class waves with grand old hotels and a proper town centre.
Families & toddlers
The Grande Plage is wide, sandy and well patrolled, and the town’s aquarium (Cité de l’Océan) and gentle beginner surf lessons make for an easy, active family stay.
Couples, teens & nightlife
A relaxed, surf-town evening scene, with good seafood restaurants around the old port and a livelier bar scene drawing a younger, surf-focused crowd in summer.
Seniors & accessibility
The clifftop promenade linking the town’s beaches is flat and scenic, though Atlantic swells and cooler water are worth knowing compared with Mediterranean resorts on this list.
Best time to visit
June to September for swimming weather; the surf itself is good for much of the year, with autumn swells popular among experienced surfers.