Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St-Jean-de-Luz feels cute and nonthreatening now, but in the 17th century it was
home to the Basque Corsairs. With the French government's blessing, these pirates who
worked the sea—and enriched the town—moored here.
• After you walk the length of the port, on your right is the tree-lined...
Place Louis XIV: The town's main square, named for the king who was married
here, is a hub of action that serves as the town's communal living room. During the sum-
mer, the bandstand features traditional Basque folk music and dancing at 21:00 (almost
nightly July-Aug, otherwise Sun and Wed). Facing the square is the City Hall (Herriko
Etchea) and the House of Louis XIV (he lived here for 40 festive days in 1660). A visit to
this house is worthwhile only if you like period furniture, though it's only open for part of
the year; the rest of the time the privately owned mansion is occupied by the same family
that's had it for over three centuries (€5, June-mid-Oct Wed-Mon, closed Tue and mid-
Oct-July, visits by 40-minute guided tour only, 2-4/day, in French with English handouts,
tel. 05 59 26 27 58, www.maison-louis-xiv.fr ) .
The king's visit is memorialized by a small black equestrian statue at the entrance of
the City Hall (a miniature of the huge statue that marks the center of the Versailles court-
yard).Theplanetrees,withtruncatedbrancheslookinglikefists,arecutbackinthewinter
so that in the summer they'll come back with thick, shady foliage.
Pelota
In keeping with their seafaring, shipbuilding, and metalworking heritage, Basque
sports are often feats of strength: Who can lift the heaviest stone? Who can row the
fastest and farthest?
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