Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 30 seconds
About 15,000 inhabitants (14,857 in 2023, according to INSEE, the French national statistics institute), between Biarritz and Hendaye (Hendaia). A bay protected by 3 sea walls (Socoa, Artha, Sainte-Barbe) that break the ocean swell — a family beach.
Basque name: Donibane Lohizune (also written Lohitzun), Lohitzun meaning ‘place of alluvium’. Spanish name: San Juan de Luz.
A little history
15th century: Basque fishermen from the port were fishing the Newfoundland banks.
16th–18th centuries: whaling, cod fishing and privateering: the town became a ‘nest of corsairs’.
9 June 1660: marriage of Louis XIV and the Infanta Maria Theresa in the Church of St John the Baptist (église Saint-Jean-Baptiste), following the Treaty of the Pyrenees (7 November 1659). The king arrived in early May and lodged for a month with the shipowner Joannis de Lohobiague; the Infanta arrived on 7 June and stayed in the Maison Joanoenia, home of the shipowner Joannot de Haraneder. As the streets were muddy, the procession reached the church along a kind of raised walkway.
17th–18th centuries: the sea ravaged the town several times (1680; the storm of 1749, which destroyed 200 houses; the storm of 1782, which swept away the Barre district). A ‘guarantee wall’ (mur de garantie) was reinforced or rebuilt several times (in 1782 and 1823). In the end, it is the Socoa, Sainte-Barbe and Artha sea walls, ordered by Napoleon III, that have enclosed the bay since the early 20th century.
19th century: the town took off as a seaside resort, with the arrival of the railway and Napoleon III’s stays in the area.
What to see
The Church of St John the Baptist
The monument. Its origins go back to the early 14th century; its present form dates from alterations made in the 17th century. Nearly 50 metres long and 20 metres high, it is the largest church in Labourd and was listed as a historic monument (monument historique) in 1931. Wooden galleries on three levels, typical of Labourd churches (the men stood in the galleries, the women in the nave), rebuilt identically in 1857 thanks in part to a donation from Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. A monumental gilded wooden altarpiece installed in 1669, the work of Martin de Bidache: some twenty gilded statues, the most spectacular in the French Basque Country (Iparralde). The organ case was built in 1659 by Gérard Brunel for the royal wedding. A votive ship (ex-voto), given in 1865 by the Soudre family, hangs in the nave. The Wedding Door, walled up around 1669 so that no other couple could ever pass through it.
The Maison Louis XIV
The Maison Lohobiague (1643), on Place Louis-XIV, where the king stayed at the time of his wedding in 1660.
The Infanta’s House
The Maison Joanoenia, where Maria Theresa stayed before the wedding. Its façades have been protected since 1925, and the whole building since 1992.
Land of Art and History
Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ciboure were jointly awarded the Land of Art and History label (Pays d’art et d’histoire) in 2016. The area’s interpretation centre (CIAP) is housed in the Couvent des Récollets (Recollect convent) in Ciboure, built from 1613 onwards; the cistern and its stone well-head were a gift from Cardinal Mazarin in 1662.
The fishing port
A working port, facing Ciboure. Views over the bay.
The Grande Plage
A sandy beach facing the bay, sheltered by the sea walls — ideal for families.
Ciboure
The neighbouring municipality on the other bank of the Nivelle. Birthplace of Maurice Ravel (Maison Estebania, Quai de la Nivelle), a fishing port shared with Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and the Couvent des Récollets.
Socoa, the other end of the bay
Socoa is a district of Ciboure, on the western side of the bay. The bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz is the only sheltered bay between Arcachon and Spain, closed off by three sea walls: Socoa, Artha and Sainte-Barbe.
- Fort de Socoa dates from the 17th century; it was built to defend the bay.
- The Corniche Basque links Socoa to Hendaye-Plage, with spectacular views of the ocean.
- The port: Ciboure shares the fishing port with Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
Les Halles
The covered market, at the heart of the town’s life, is open every morning 07:00–13:00, with some thirty permanent stalls. Around it, the open-air market is held on Tuesday and Friday mornings (more than 70 stallholders), and also on Saturday mornings in July–August; a designers' market takes place on Sundays from 1 June to 15 September.
Where to eat
Specialities
- Ttoro — Basque fish soup
- Chipirons (small squid)
- Gâteau basque (Basque cake)
Getting there
- Car: A63 or the coast road from Biarritz
- Train: Saint-Jean-de-Luz-Ciboure station, on the Bordeaux–Irun line
- Airport: Biarritz-Pays Basque
One-day itinerary
- Morning: Church of St John the Baptist + Maison Louis XIV, then Les Halles
- Lunch: at the port or in Ciboure
- Afternoon: the Grande Plage, then a walk to Fort de Socoa
- Evening: drinks at the port
Famous people linked to Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ciboure
- Louis XIV (1638–1715) — married Maria Theresa of Spain in the Church of St John the Baptist on 9 June 1660.
- Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) — composer of Boléro, born in Ciboure on 7 March 1875; his mother, Marie Delouart, came from a family settled in Ciboure since at least the 17th century.
- Bixente Lizarazu — footballer born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner with France, left-back for Bayern Munich between 1997 and 2006.
- Michèle Alliot-Marie (born 1946) — politician whose father, Bernard Marie, was mayor of Biarritz. Ciboure town councillor (1983–1988), mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz from 1995 to 2002 and then first deputy mayor, member of the National Assembly for the 6th constituency of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (1988–2012). President of the RPR party (1999–2002), she was France’s first woman Minister of Defence (2002–2007), then Minister of the Interior (2007–2009), of Justice (2009–2010) and of Foreign Affairs (2010–2011), a post she left in February 2011 after the controversy linked to the Tunisian revolution. She was also a Member of the European Parliament (1989–1993, 2014–2019).
My favourite photo
The harbour at sunset, with the boats, Ciboure opposite and the bay closed off by the sea walls. Or the Grande Plage at dawn.
Sources
- Town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz — Les Halles (in French)
- INSEE — local area comparison tool, Saint-Jean-de-Luz (2023 population, in French)
- Saint-Jean-de-Luz tourist office — The church, The marriage of Louis XIV, The bay’s sea defences, Land of Art and History
- Wikipedia: Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Church of St John the Baptist, Maurice Ravel, Bixente Lizarazu, Michèle Alliot-Marie
Ongi jin Donibane Lohizunera — Welcome to Saint-Jean-de-Luz.