After a wonderful day of enjoying the views of the Atlantic ocean and getting to know beautiful Biarritz better, Frenchie and I decided that it was time to have a look at the shopping possibilities in this magnificint French seaside town

Biarritz’ Covered Food Market – Les Halles!

If there is one thing, you don’t want to miss out on in France – it’s the food scene! Being a food-lover, Biarritz is a real mecca for someone like me, and I certainly didn’t want to come home to London empty-handed! Luckily Biarritz has a great food market, near the old town with superb quality fish and seafood, meat, cheeses, charcuterie and bread.  There is also a great variety of fruit and vegetables, including fresh truffles and French patisserie.

Oh joy, oh joy! Foie gras in all shapes and sizes!

Les Halles is an ideal place to buy wonderful food for a picnic (at very affordable prices) and a must for any foodie wanting to learn more about the Basque country’s local products

As always – I was hungry, so Frenchie and I shared a fresh baguette with delicious Serrano ham and basque cheese! Yum!

Speaking of cheese… It’s hard not to get tempted to buy it all at this place. Sheep’s milk cheese is very popular in this area!

You also have to try the local sausages and ham! 

Here is your possibility for buying just-caught seafood! Most of the basque people are seafaring people, so they know what real quality taste like! 

If you have a sweet tooth, why not try the Gâteau Basque – a traditional dessert  constructed from layers of a wheat flour based cake with a filling of either almond or vanilla pastry cream, or preserved cherries. I myself prefer the lovely Canalé!

One of the places in Biarritz, where you can really indulge yourself in basque cake specialities is Maison Adam!

I’d like to order this one for my birthday, please!

The traditional Gâteau Basque!

As I couldn’t carry the entire pyramid of mini macarons, I decided to buy a smaller version – and had to taste them in front of Galeries LaFayette !

They went down quite fast…

Time for a quick lunch with beach/sea view! “We must not forgot to eat” was our mantra! – and so we did (basically all of the time!) This is restaurant Arena

Somehow food and wine taste better with a view like this!

Time for more shopping! The range of shopping options in Biarritz covers everything from Basque handicraft to cool surf shorts and expensive designer labels. The surf brand Quiksilver has ties to the area and their products can be found in many of the shops.
If you are looking for luxury brands the best stores are situated along avenue Edouard VII, including Natacha and Hermès, as well as along rue Mazagran and around place Clèmenceau.

I am the proud owner of eight pair of Tod’s driving shoes! I simply love the comfort and the colours of this brand! 

One delight of Biarritz is the number of small, independent shops. In an hour’s shopping in Biarritz, I saw only one big store – Galeries LaFayette!

Adorable teeny tiny baby Havaianas – and cool Birkenstocks

Got to love old vintage cars…

After a lot of shopping in 34 degrees, we decided for some pool-time at Hotel Le Regina

Cooling down while waiting for our drinks to be served…

– And a few hours later we were ready for another night out in Biarritz town

As I mentioned in the previous post about Biarritz, it is quite important to make sure to ask for tables outside, when you book a table in a restaurant in this area! The last thing you want to do is end up in a sauna, when the temperature is perfect for outdoor dining! This cute and vivid tapas place was actually not where we were supposed to eat, but “destiny” let us here – and thank God for that!

Wonderful wine and amazing tapas for little money! Welcome to Bar du Marché!

Homemade foie gras with chilli and fresh baguette on the side – a must try!

Delicious chipirons – a Frenchie favourite! 

And the whole enchilada of juicy croquettes de jambon, crunchy fried squid and tasty basque cheeses! I can not recommend this place highly enough. Being a big fan of tapas, this place is a winner!

I most certainly was in my right element at this place

No room for dessert, but definitely room for a gin and tonic – La piscina style! (which basically means you get a swimming pool-sized glass full of joy!

Lobster-faced and a bit tipsy on the beach… Life couldn’t be much better!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures in Biarritz. I certainly hope it won’t be the last time I’m visiting this little pearl on the French basque coast! Frenchie and I continued our little road-trip, so if you are up for it, Bordeaux, Andernos-les-Bains and Saint-Jean-de-Luz is up on the blog very soon.  

X Louise