The Perfect Day in Bayonne: Food, Sights, and Stories, Bayonne, France

A week before we left for France, a photo popped up on our social media feed with an impossibly beautiful street full of little shops and half-timbered houses that we swore we were going to track down.

Not to retrace other travellers’ footsteps, not in the slightest, but to bask in the stillness only a small city can provide.

Don’t let the main photo fool you; our journey to France and Bayonne was far from perfect, but it was ours. An accurate depiction of the trip – listening to the winds wailing on most nights, and running around with a half-broken umbrella and drenched shoes.

In Dublin, the sun was shining all day, while in France, as soon as we arrived and settled, heavy rain pelted the ground.

Despite the rain, we discovered that Bayonne is a great French getaway and makes for a fantastic day trip. Although less famous than its neighbour, Biarritz, she’s equally beautiful and has a few lovely surprises up her sleeve.

We initially planned a short day trip from Biarritz to Bayonne – a certified Town of Art and History by the French government since 2011 – yet we loved its narrow cobblestone streets and colourful architecture so much that we returned multiple times. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).