Kampaoh Urrugne

The kids will probably demand a day on a Basque Coast beach; luckily for them you have a choice. Overlooked by a 17th-century fortress, Socoa Beach (10 minutes’ drive) is popular for watersports, while sheltered Grande Plage in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (also 10 minutes) has a kids’ club and lifeguards in summer, as well as a sprinkling of cafés and ice-cream shops on the seafront promenade. You’ll spot more beaches when hiking along the spectacular Basque Corniche (five minutes), edging the clifftops between Urrugne-Socoa and Hendaye (two hours’ walk). When weather and tide conditions are right, you may also get to spot the Giant Belharra Wave, a 20-metre monster that expert surfers from all over the world come to conquer. Urban day trips might include a visit to sophisticated Biarritz (half an hour), where kids can watch 4D movies in the interactive Cité de l’Océan (20 minutes) and you can plunder the hallowed portals of covered Les Halles market for picnics to eat on Plage de la Côte des Basques. After an afternoon spent on Playa de la Zurriola in Spain’s Basque city of San Sebastian (half an hour), enjoy fine dining in award-winning restaurants or go tapas-bar hopping for the region’s pintxo kebabs.