Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
InsulatedfrommainstreamEuropeformuchoftheirhistory,thepluckyBasqueshave
wanted to be left alone for more than 7,000 years. An easily crossed border separates the
French
PaysBasque
fromtheSpanish
PaísVasco,
allowingyoutosamplebothsidesfrom
a single base (in France, I hang my beret in cozy St-Jean-de-Luz; in Spain, I prefer fun-
loving San Sebastián).
Much unites the French and Spanish Basque regions: They share a cuisine, Union
Jack-style flag (green, red, and white), and common language (Euskara), spoken by about
a half-million people. (Virtually everyone also speaks French and/or Spanish.) And both
have been integrated by their respective nations, sometimes forcibly. The French Revolu-
tionquelledFrenchBasqueideasofindependence;130yearslater,Spain'sfascistdictator,
Generalísimo Francisco Franco, attempted to tame his own separatist-minded Basques.
But over the past few generations, things have started looking up. The long-sup-
pressedEuskaralanguageisenjoyingaresurgence.And,astheEuropeanUnioncelebrates
ethnic regions rather than nations, the French and Spanish Basques are feeling more
united. This heavily industrialized region is enjoying a striking 21st-century renaissance.
InFrance, long-ignored cities suchasBayonne andthe surfingmecca ofBiarritz are being
revitalized. And in Spain, the dazzling architecture of the Guggenheim Bilbao modern-
art museum and the glittering resort of San Sebastián are drawing enthusiastic crowds. At
the same time, traditional small towns—like France's St-Jean-de-Luz and nearby moun-
