The best photo spots in the Basque Country

If you want to bring back from your next vacation in the Basque Country the ideal souvenir photo album, we offer you a selection of beautiful sites to photograph. We toured the Basque Country, looking for the most beautiful photos you could take there… Let's go for a photo road-trip through Labourd, Basse-Navarre and Soule, on the French side… Before going down further south in the Spanish regions of this same two-faced Basque Country.

1) Unmissable photo on the Rhune

La Rhune is an emblematic site of the Basque Country. It is an authentic place that reflects the soul of this country, between the Atlantic coast and the Pyrenean mountains. Several access routes are available to you: hiking trails but also a small family train. Once at the top, the panorama over the ocean, the Basque hinterland and the Spanish Basque Country is absolutely beautiful!

2) Mystical photo in Ainhoa

Ainhoa is one of the most traditional villages in the Basque Country. You will be charmed by these houses called "labourdines", whitewashed and crossed by bright red half-timbering, which is called "Basque red". But what also marks the visitor is the beauty of the religious heritage and in particular the cemeteries, with these discoidal stelae recalling very ancient customs. They are, still today, full of mysteries and legends...

3) Color palette in Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a very old and very important fishing port in the Bay of Biscay. Wealthy merchants have therefore settled there and built sumptuous villas on the seafront. Thus the city exudes an unusual atmosphere, between the joviality of sailors and a more discreet atmosphere of the bourgeoisie. Beautiful photos are available to you of these colorful fishing boats, with these beautiful homes in the background.

4) Dizzying view of the Passerelle d'Holzarte

The Passerelle d'Holzarte is one of the most popular hikes in the Basque hinterland. The landscapes of Haute Soule are magnificent and the natural environment is very well preserved. The suspension bridge spans the Olhadubi Gorges, more than 150 meters high, in the town of Larrau. The hike leading to it is quite strenuous, but the view of the footbridge is well worth it. Dizziness guaranteed, even on souvenir photos!

5 ) Panoramic view of the ocean in Biarritz

The coastal path which borders the cliffs and beaches of Biarritz is one of the essential walks. It must be said that you don't know where to turn your camera with its beautiful heritage, in particular the Villa Belza, the Rocher de la Vierge and the beautiful buildings of the seaside resort, on one side, and the ocean with its incessant ballet surfer, on the other!

6) Postcard on Bayonne

Bayonne is a city of art, history and culture! Every street corner has a story to tell you... And a story that is still alive, with street-art works and decorations in every season. It is a city that will seduce lovers of old stones but which is open to the world and new influences, to modernize and satisfy its inhabitants of tomorrow.

7) Outstanding photo on the Flyschs of Zumaia

The Flyschs are visible witnesses to the meeting of two continents, born of this slow but relentless tectonic movement… These rocky ridges form strata and criss-cross the coast of Zumaia, in the Spanish Basque Country. It is a rare geological curiosity and you will make extraordinary images there, which will not fail to make people talk about them, when you show your souvenir albums.

8) Spiritual journey in San-Juan-de-Gaztelugatxe

The peninsula of San-Juan-de-Gaztelugatxe is a small islet, connected to the land by a rocky strip, dressed in a stone bridge, looking like a wall. Placed on this rock, a chapel dedicated to San-Juan, which no longer has anything to do with the original building, so much history has tested it... Only the legend remains and an interest still as lively for this place odd. Recently, this mysterious site provided an unusual setting for the “Game of Thrones” series.

9) Dream trip photo in San-Sebastian Bay

San Sebastian is a dream city for tourists from all over the world. People come here to party and have fun, but also to bask on its magnificent white sand beach which adjoins the town centre. The city has expanded from its fishing port, a little out of the way, next to a majestic bay. It offers all kinds of leisure and sports, but also heavenly viewpoints for amateur photographers.

10) Modern art photography in the museum city of Bilbao

Bilbao is nicknamed the “museum city” because it is a center of culture in the Spanish Basque Country. The Guggenheim Museum is the high point of this cultural ensemble, which brings together multiple trends. There is enough to satisfy your curiosity and all your desires of the moment.

This is how our road-trip to discover the most beautiful photo spots in the Basque Country ends. We hope to have made you want to visit the Basque Country on the French side, as well as on the Spanish side, and to photograph these beautiful tourist sites.

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