Explorar Biarritz

The Biarritz Aquarium, also known as the Musée de la Mer, occupies an Art Deco building opened in 1933 on the Atalaye plateau, facing the Rocher de la Vierge. Some fifty tanks show the marine life of the Bay of Biscay and of tropical seas, including sharks and a seal pool, and rooms cover fishing and the history of whaling in Biarritz.

The Rocher de la Vierge is a rock off the coast of Biarritz, reached by a 19th-century metal footbridge and crowned by a statue of the Virgin Mary blessed in 1865. By tradition the statue recalls local whalers who found their way home through a storm by following a light. Napoleon III had the rock tunnelled for a harbour of refuge that was never completed.

Biarritz Lighthouse stands on the Pointe Saint-Martin, a headland at the north end of Biarritz, and has guided ships since 1834. The white tower is 47 metres tall, and 248 steps lead to a gallery with views over the Landes beaches, the Basque coast and, on clear days, the Pyrenees. Its lens, fitted in 1904, gives two white flashes every ten seconds.