This week, I invite you to discover the five most beautiful villages in Basque Country! After visiting Bayonne together, let’s head to the Basque hinterland.
You know how much I love small, traditional villages. Well, those in Basque Country have a charm that you won’t find anywhere else! I’ve long dreamed of exploring these half-timbered streets and houses painted in the distinctive red that symbolizes the region.
So here are my five favorite villages in Basque Country among those I’ve visited! And it’s no coincidence that four of the most beautiful villages in Basque Country are also listed among the “most beautiful villages in France”: Ainhoa, Sare, La Bastide Clairence, and Saint Jean Pied de Port. Have you heard of them?
The last village is one of the best known and most touristy, yet I fell in love with it. Yes, I’m talking about the chili pepper capital: Espelette. This will also be an opportunity to introduce you to another regional specialty: sheep’s cheese, as we travel together along the cheese route…
Ready for a lovely stroll through the most beautiful villages in Basque Country? Let’s go!
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR VISITING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN BASQUE COUNTRY
How to get there ?
A car is essential for this road trip through the most beautiful villages in Basque Country. Only Sare is easily accessible by bus from Saint Jean de Luz (bus no. 21). Rent a car here if you need to.
Compare car rentals to find the best price!
Where to stay to visit the most beautiful villages in Basque Country?
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Sare are the two villages where you will find the widest choice of accommodation. Espelette remains the most central location for exploring all the Basque villages! In any case, the Basque Country offers a wide range of great accommodation, including some superb guesthouses!
3 recommended accommodations for discovering the 5 most beautiful villages in Basque Country
LE MOULIN DE PASCALE
- In Espelette
- Charming B&B
- From €120
FERME ELHORGA
- Between the sea and the mountains
- Beautiful decor, pool
- From €200
CHALBONIA
- View on the mountains
- Typical house, B&B
- From €90
Organizing your time to visit the most beautiful villages in Basque country
Some of the prettiest villages in Basque Country are very small and can be visited in less than an hour. Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port is slightly larger, but also more touristy. Allow a full day or a weekend to enjoy all the villages.
To give you an idea of travel times, allow 25 minutes from Bayonne to La Bastide-Clairence and 30 minutes from Bayonne or Saint Jean-de-Luz to Espelette.
It also takes 30 minutes to get from Saint Jean-de-Luz to Sare and Ainhoa, and 40 minutes from Bayonne. Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port is the furthest village: allow around 1 hour from Bayonne and Saint Jean-de-Luz.
What to bring back from the most beautiful villages in Basque Country?
Cheese, of course! But also Basque cakes, the specialty of the village of Sare, or products made with Espelette pepper. You’ll be spoiled for choice: cold cuts, preserves, spices, cheese, and even chocolate flavored with pepper… There are so many good things in Basque Country!
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN BASQUE COUNTRY #1: LA BASTIDE CLAIRENCE
About 20 kilometers from Bayonne is La Bastide Clairence, ranked among the “Most Beautiful Villages in France.” This very pretty Basque village charmed me with its abundance of arts and crafts. As you stroll through the village, you can discover a different craft in every street. It’s almost like being in a museum! You can visit a glass sculptor’s workshop, a weaving mill, an old forge that is still in operation, and more.
The main street slopes down from the church to the stream below. It crosses the village square, which is lined with beautiful houses with arcades. The square is truly sublime! And in La Bastide Clairence, every detail counts. The houses are carved with pretty little details that symbolize the region, such as the Basque cross. The red half-timbered houses are also accompanied by cut stones that delimit their facades.
Don’t hesitate to lose yourself in the adjacent streets, you’ll be pleasantly surprised! Like stumbling upon the town’s pretty mill.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN BASQUE COUNTRY #2: ESPELETTE
Let’s be honest, I’m not sure I would recommend going there on a weekend in the middle of summer at midday. On the contrary, I think you should discover Espelette early in the morning, before the tourist buses arrive at 10 a.m.
The village is much more pleasant then, with its residents going about their business and the calm atmosphere of a small, quiet village. I think it’s my favorite of all the most beautiful villages in Basque Country!
Espelette is a charming village divided into two parts: the upper town with its pretty houses, and the lower town around the church and stream. Apart from the famous chili peppers drying in the windows (for the tourists, as few people still dry them this way, and only from September onwards), there is a pleasant feeling of authenticity.
The church is typically Basque and very surprising. The entrance is at the back, and the interior is laid out like an opera house! Black wooden balconies on several floors can accommodate the entire village. I loved this discovery.
Each shop was also decorated to celebrate the arrival of a stage of the Tour de France in Espelette, with amusing paintings on their storefronts. Chili peppers are of course also part of the decor!
I also recommend visiting the Chili Pepper Interpretation Center, which is particularly interesting. For example, I learned that Espelette chili peppers, formerly known as red pepper, were imported from Mexico in the 16th century! The village gave its name to the chili pepper because it was then the central point on the road between Bayonne and Spain, which helped to make it an important trading center. I also discovered that the chili peppers are replanted every year! You can imagine how much work that must be! The harvest then takes place between August and December.
Today, only 10 villages can produce chili peppers with the protected designation of origin. They have a very specific climate and clay soil that create the ideal conditions for growing chili peppers. However, only tasters can validate the PDO based on criteria of taste, appearance, and smell. At the chili pepper house, you will have the opportunity to smell and taste a little chili pepper. Its smell can be reminiscent of peppers, tomatoes, biscuits, or even dried hay. Quite a program!
If you want to discover all the secrets of chili peppers with a local producer and take part in the harvest and stemming, don’t hesitate to book a workshop! Deliciousness and fun guaranteed!
Book your workshop to discover the secrets of chili peppers with a producer!
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN BASQUE COUNTRY #3: AINHOA
A few kilometers from Espelette is the small village of Ainhoa, ranked among the “most beautiful villages in France.” Close to Navarre (the Basque region on the Spanish side), it is also located on the Way of St. James.
The only street in this charming village is almost like a museum, with its cute little houses. Perfectly aligned, they are all half-timbered and almost identical. Although Basque red predominates, there are a few surprising exceptions. Only the house with light blue shutters and the one with black half-timbering stand out.
At the entrance to the village, the pretty 13th-century church, typical of the Basque style, is surrounded by a fronton (of course!) and a rather unusual cemetery. The disc-shaped steles carved with symbols and geometric shapes are also very typical.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN BASQUE COUNTRY #4: SARE
The small village of Sare is one of the prettiest villages in Basque Country, nestled at the foot of the Pyrenees, not far from Ainhoa. It has all the charm of a typical mountain village. The Rhune massif is just above Sare, and you can climb it on a little tourist train. There’s also a really nice hike from the village to climb the Rhune if you’re feeling brave. I’ll tell you more about it in my next article on Basque Country—the view is amazing!
In Sare, Basque half-timbering has been replaced by exposed stone that sculpts the edges of the pretty facades. In the center of the village, there is also a beautiful traditional church and, of course, a pelota court where you can play Basque pelota! It is undoubtedly one of the pelota courts in the region with the most beautiful view! Not just of the players, but also of the surrounding mountains…
I really liked Sare because it’s in such an idyllic setting! Here, people take the time to live. It’s even part of the village motto, “Saran Astia,” which means “in Sare, we have time.” It’s also a foodie village, as it’s where the Basque cake with cream or cherries was invented. I mentioned it when I was talking about my tastings in Bayonne, and it’s delicious!
Find your accommodation in Sare!
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN BASQUE COUNTRY #5: SAINT JEAN-PIED-DE-PORT
Saint Jean Pied de Port is also a member of the “most beautiful villages in France” club. Located on the banks of the Nive River, it is nestled at the foot of the mountains a few kilometers from the Roncevaux Pass that leads to Spain. However, it is very different from other villages and does not really feature the typical architecture of Basque Country. Its medieval streets are lined with pretty pink sandstone houses with green or red shutters. You can even imagine the medieval merchants’ stalls filling the main street…
Everywhere you go, you can feel the strong bond that unites the village with the pilgrims of the Camino of Santiago. It must be said that the village has been an important stop on the pilgrimage since the 12th century! There are plenty of places to stay and shops selling equipment for pilgrims, and you will often see small scallop shells carved and drawn on the village walls.
Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port also has a rich architectural heritage. The town was originally surrounded by ramparts, then a citadel was added to protect the village in the 17th century. I recommend exploring the ramparts by climbing up to one of the four beautiful gates in the wall. You can then climb up to the citadel or walk back down the pretty main street towards the banks of the Nive.
Find your accommodation in Saint Jean Pied de Port!
Read also : Le Puy To Conques Camino : The Ultimate Guide
THE BASQUE COUNTRY CHEESE ROUTE
As I mentioned in my article on Bayonne, the Basque region is rich in produce and its cuisine is delicious… You can also discover it inland, particularly by following the cheese route to taste Ossau-Iraty cheese. The roads are particularly pretty, and meeting the producers on their farms is a truly fascinating experience.
Brochures about the different farms are available at tourist offices throughout the region. However, be aware that only cheeses stamped with a sheep’s head and an F in the middle are “farmhouse” cheeses. These are produced on the farm by the farmer himself. The others, which are dairy cheeses made in cheese dairies, have less flavor.
In the hills above Bastide-Clairence, the Bethanoun farm offers delicious Ossau-Iraty farmhouse cheeses, as well as blue cheese and other cheeses they produce themselves.
The region is also known for its other sheep’s milk cheeses, such as Etorki, and even goat’s and cow’s milk cheeses.
Wheels of Ossau-Iraty cheese
EXPLORE THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN BASQUE COUNTRY
La Rhune: its summit, at an altitude of 905m, offers a magnificent view of the Basque coast and the surrounding mountains. La Rhune can be reached by a small train or by a hike (2-2.5 hours uphill) from Sare.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz (25 minutes from Sare): this pretty village perfectly blends traditional Basque architecture with the chic of a pleasant seaside resort. A must-see if you’re visiting the region! Check out my article for more information to visit St Jean de Luz, France
Bayonne (25 minutes from La Bastide-Clairence): check out my article on visiting Bayonne for a stroll through history and gastronomy! I was truly charmed by this city, so I invite you to discover it on the blog!
The Landes (45 minutes from La Bastide-Clairence): The Landes region is also full of hidden gems, from famous beaches to the lesser-known but equally beautiful hinterland! Read my article Visiting the Landes off the beaten track to find out more!
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