About Biarritz


Welcome to Biarritz!


Biarritz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biarritz) is located in the Basque Country, a unique place between sea and mountain at the junction between France and Spain.

 

A prime destination forever branded by the passage of Napoleon III and the Famous, Biarritz has always been one of France’s most welcoming towns. A century ago, thanks to the Empress Eugenie, the little whaling town became a fashionable summer resort that, through the years, has stayed open to the outside world without ever losing its identity.

 

Today, Biarritz is undoubtedly the only town where you can see neoprene-clad surfers with their boards under their arms crossing paths with business men in suits and ties carrying towels. A funny image, yet so common... Open and cosmopolitan, Biarritz, the pearl of the Basque coast, carries this mix of styles close to its heart and loves bringing opposites together.

 

Biarritz Cuisine
Offering a wonderful mix of French, south western and local Basque cuisine, Biarritz offers diners an excellent mix of brasseries, bistros, and more formal dining. Seafood is the obvious specialty of this French coastal town, with two main factors – the ocean and the town’s location in the Basque Country – influencing the food in Biarritz.

With its blend of Pyrenees Mountain, ocean and New World produce, Basque gastronomy has lately been praised as the best in Europe and is served in many of Biarritz’s restaurants alongside the excellent local wines produced in the region’s wine districts.

 

When visiting Biarritz, some of the wonderful Basque specialties to taste include: piquillos, sweet red peppers stuffed with either morue (eel) or cabillaud (cod); pibales (young eels), hake and chipirones (baby squid); axoa (pronounced achoa), a traditional veal stew with peppers and Espelette chillies; omelette Basquaise with tomatoes, Espelette chillies, and Bayonne ham; and piperade, a ham, pepper, tomato and onion mixture. Meat and fish is also cooked the Spanish style, “a la plancha”, on an open hotplate in its own fat.

French Basque cuisine also favours foie gras, duck magret, Ardi Gasna ewe's cheese served with a delicious black cherry jam, and - one of the more surprising delicacies - cojones, the stuffed testicles of the bull from the bullfighting arena!

Of course mention must also be made of the famous jambon de Bayonne (a salty ham). Flavoured with salt from the Bassin de l'Adour near Biarritz, and left to dry in southerly and westerly winds for six months in accordance with the ancestral rules, it's the region's signature gourmet item. Naturally, it should be tasted along with a good Irouléguy wine, which was a great favourite among the pilgrims on their way to Compostella in the 11th century. The vineyards are set on the steep, sunny mountainsides surrounding the Baïgorry valley. Original Basque vine-varieties are used to make this character-filled wine. Another local drink is Paxtaran, a liqueur made from aniseed, wild prunes and vanilla, and Txakoli - once a farmer's thirst-quencher, now a lightly sparkling local white wine that's perfect with seafood.

For those with a sweet tooth, you must try the ultimate Basque dessert, “gâteau basque”, a cake filled with rich cream and cherry preserves; the region’s specialty chocolates; “tourons”, a delicate mixture of almonds and sugar; and muxus (pronounced mouchous and meaning “kiss” in Basque), a type of macaroon with marzipan.


Biarritz shopping
Shopping in Biarritz is a delight, whether you are looking for Basque textiles, the latest surf gear, exceptional Biarritz chocolates, designer labels, quality jewellery or antiques. Intimate boutiques and large department stores will quickly fill your suitcase, whatever your budget!
In Biarritz, major boutiques with big designer names from Paris can be found on Place Clemenceau in the centre of Biarritz, as well as along the elegant rue Mazagran and avenue Edouard VII.

All the world’s surf wear labels, including surf wear gurus Quiksilver, Roxy, O’Neill and Billabong, can be found in the many surf shops by Grand Plage Beach and around Place du Port Vieux. Whether you are a surfer or not, you can certainly look the part!

Virtually every souvenir shop and department store in the region sells espadrilles, the canvas-topped, rope-bottomed Basque shoe. You will be amazed at how many colours and styles an espadrille comes in! With your feet adorned in traditional Basque footwear, add a red Basque beret to complete your authentic outfit!

The indoor food typical French market at Les Halles offers the Biarritz’s speciality, fresh curd sheep’s milk, as well as sausages, cheese, Serrano ham, fresh herbs, freshly caught sardines, fresh fruit and vegetables, and other local Basque delicatessen treats.

 

Money and Costs

The currency in France is the euro.
Most internationally recognized credit and debit cards can draw money from machines with the appropriate logo. Visa, MasterCard and other major credit cards are accepted in big department stores, hotels, shopping centres, and up-scale restaurants.

 

Language
Most of the young French people speak at least one foreign language like English, German, Italian, etc.

Weather Information
With a typical continental warm temperate zone climate, Biarritz has four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature in Biarritz is around 12 degrees Celsius. January is the coldest month and July is the warmest.
The summer month, June to August, are hot. The May is near the summer, and the weather is pretty good. So you do not need to bring a lot of clothing. The wind is soft, and the average daytime high temperature in the middle of May is in the range of 11-18ºC.
Please check http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/175 for the latest forecast.

 

Advice on Clothing at IRG 41
The temperature in Biarritz in May is around 11-18°C. Although spring weather is generally warm, it is advisable to take a jacket, a light raincoat or umbrella for the occasional rain shower and cool evenings.

For specific events we recommend the following dress code suggestions:

Event

Dress code suggestions

Opening reception

Business Casual

Conference sessions

Casual

President’s reception*

Casual or Business Casual

Wednesday excursion

Casual

Thursday banquet dinner

White shirt and if possible white trousers



Travel Information



Passports & Visa
All participants in the congress will require a valid passport.
Visa information is available on the web site http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/92/passport_visa/Europe/France.html.
The Local Organizing Committee will provide a letter of invitation to all registrants.

Transportation - How to get to Biarritz?
Direct flight connections to Biarritz Airport from: Paris, Lyon, Clermont Ferrand, Nice, Dublin, London, Shannon, Bristol, Geneva, Frankfurt, Copenhagen.



The distance between the airport and the city is about 4 kilometres.




It is easy to take a taxi just outside the airport Aéroport de Biarritz-Anglet-Bayonne or you might make an arrangement before with one of the 2 taxi companies of Biarritz:
- La belle vie +33 (0)625.769.769

  • Vehicles specially tailored for groups: 8 passenger seats, high comfort, large boot.
  • 7 spoken languages (English, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Russian and Portuguese).
  • Set price 1-8 people : 25 € from Airport / train station to Biarritz (same price night & day, Sundays & holidays)
  • No extra charge for flights delays, voluminous luggage, traffic jam…

- Taxis de Biarritz: +33 (0)559 031 818

The taxi fare to the city is about 15-25 €.