Thumping bass, roaring engines, the crash of waves in the setting sun – Biarritz is a world of the senses. By day there are dusty races on old motorbikes and surfing on the waves off the town; in the evening young people dance in the festival village, and in the bars and restaurants of the Rue du Port-Vieux things get going, food- and drink-wise. It’s loud, it’s hot, it’s June – the time of «Wheels and Waves». On the Atlantic coast, this is the place to be.
And it doesn’t matter at which of the many spots you meet. On offer: the traditional «Punk’s Peak», a 400-metre race up Mont Jaizkibel for vintage machines, custom bikes and quirky two-wheelers, or the dusty sand races in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle. Surfers compete at the Grande Plage in Biarritz, while young skaters show their skills at the «Blue Banana Surf Contest» in the festival village. In these days Biarritz pulses: people from all over the world meet and measure themselves in a peaceful mood.
Cult Spot Biarritz
The setting is a fascinating, old, fashionable place that has seen better days – and may soon see them again. For reinventing itself is something Biarritz is good at. The former little fishing village became, in the mid-19th century, the playground of the European aristocracy, when Napoleon III built his wife, Empress Eugénie, a magnificent summer residence, luring kings, English lords and Spanish grandees to the coast. Until after the Second World War, European nobility strolled along the great beach; thanks to its fine waves, Biarritz also became, in the 1950s, Europe’s first mecca of surfing.
Where the beautiful and the rich are, everyone wants to go. Biarritz drew ever more people, until it was overrun by mass tourism in the 1960s. Since then, hideous hotel blocks with peeling façades have squeezed in among the splendid villas. It looks tired – and yet it has charm. For the old Biarritz isn’t gone; it’s beginning to remember its glorious days again. In thoroughly modern fashion: with a festival, with a clear motto. «Wheels and Waves» – wheels and waves. A comeback that fits the town’s DNA.
And none of it was ever planned. Six motorcycle friends from Toulouse kept meeting here and threw a small party in 2012. Eighty people came, partied, were thrilled and spread the word. In the second year there were already 1,000 visitors; today well over 10,000 bikers and surfers gather for five days in June. The heart is a village briefly erected by the sea, where, in military tents and old campervans, makers from all over the world sell their wares, rockers and rappers play on a stage and you queue at the food corners.
Right at the entrance loom the stands of Breitling and Triumph, among the main sponsors – ensuring that celebrities show up and mingle quite naturally with the crowd. That fits Breitling’s strategy: the Swiss heritage brand has shed the image of the pilot’s watch. CEO Georges Kern created «squads» with figures from cool, anti-elitist sports like cycling, surfing or triathlon – not global stars, but cult figures within their community. So on the beach in Biarritz you may meet the world’s greatest surfers (see interview) or celebrities such as Alicia Agneson from «Vikings» and Álvaro Morte, the Professor from «Money Heist».
Our insider tip remains the Hôtel du Palais, the former summer residence of Empress Eugénie and today a five-star house of a special kind. Through the revolving door begins a journey back to the Belle Époque: imperial splendour, velvet furniture, chandeliers, thick carpets and unobtrusive top service. Anyone who can’t afford a room makes themselves comfortable in the lobby or enjoys a dinner with a breathtaking Atlantic view. The perfect place to recover briefly from the pulsing festival.
«The Best Feeling in the World!»
What is so special about surfing? Stephanie Gilmore answers – the most successful female surfer of all time: eight times World Surf League champion, and part of Breitling’s «Surf Squad». We met her in Biarritz.
I’ve never surfed. What have I missed? – «Oh, the best feeling in the world. You paddle out and ride a wave born from a storm far out at sea. You share that moment with it, feel as if you’re flying – something very special.»
In that moment you’re one with the wave? – «Yes, there’s a connection. You read the wave, place your manoeuvres, get faster. It can be humbling, because it can break over you and hold you underwater. It’s joy, fear, challenge, excitement and freedom all at once.»
But only for a few seconds. – «No, I’ve had waves that lasted minutes.» And ordinary people like me? – «You can do it too! You just have to go to the right spot. Here in Biarritz it’s a bit shorter, of course.» (laughs)
Could I still start now? – «I see many people starting at 40, 50 or 60. Surfing is like meditation, you get into the flow state. That, I think, is what makes people so addicted to it.» And what do I learn from the best? – «Surfing isn’t only about success, but also about the challenge when something doesn’t work. Even the most successful athletes lose more often than they win. You learn from your defeats.»
What’s next for you? – «There are free surfers who travel the world, surf perfect waves and make films. That would appeal to me.» And the best surf spot in the world? – «There are so many. But if I could surf one last time, I’d probably go to Indonesia – perfect, warm water, like paradise.»
This article appeared in MEN issue 2/24 (November 2024).
