Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Basque Culture
Once you've visited the Musée Basque in Bayonne, here are some more tips for getting to
grips with the unique culture of the Basque Country.
1 FÊTES DE BAYONNE
(
www.fetes.bayonne.fr
)
This Basque festival in early August attracts up to a milli-
on people to Bayonne for a five-day orgy of drinking, dancing, processions and
fireworks, culminating in the town's own version of Pamplona's 'Running of the
Bulls' ceremony (only here the bulls are replaced by heifers).
2 PELOTA
The national Basque sport of
pelota
(
pelote basque
in French) encompasses
sixteen different games, all played with a hard ball (the
pelote
) using bare hands
(
mains nues
), a wooden paddle (
pala
) or a scooplike racket (
chistera
). Nearly
every village has its own court (
fronton
); you can catch matches in Biarritz, Bay-
onne and St-Jean de Luz between June and September.
3 PIMENTS D'ESPELETTE
This spicy chilli pepper is an essential accompaniment to Basque meals (it even
has its own AOC, just like fine wine). The village of
Espelette
( tourist office
05 59 93 95 02;
www.espelette.fr
)
hosts its own chilli festival on the last weekend
in October, culminating in the crowning of a
chevalier du piment
(knight of the
chilli).
4 AXOA
This classic Basque dish of tender minced veal simmered with onions and chilli
peppers is a staple on Basque menus, including Bayonne's Chiloa Gurmenta
Restaurant.
5 DANSES DES SEPT PROVINCES BASQUES
Folk dancers from all across the Spanish and French Basque Country meet in
early summer for this annual festival in St-Jean de Luz.
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