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Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Surf, style, sun: the ultra chic French town just a short flight away
To me, Biarritz has always represented a certain faded French glamour. A favourite with the rich and famous since Napoleon first took to the waters in 1808, it's the sort of place an elderly Parisian might escape to with her poodle. The city has welcomed Coco Chanel, Ernest Hemingway and Charlie Chaplin, while Victor Hugo wrote he had never visited anywhere 'more pleasant and perfect'. Now you too can join the list of visitors, thanks to a twice weekly flight from Edinburgh to the tiny airport on the outskirts of the town. When it comes to places to stay, there is only really one address. Built by Napoleon III as a summer house for his wife, Empress Eugénie, Hôtel du Palais has been lavishly rebuilt and remodelled as one of Europe's grandest hotels. • 8 of the best beaches in Europe for summer 2025 Today it stands overlooking Biarritz's Grand Place like a beautiful clifftop wedding cake, its rooftop Tricolore fluttering on breezes blown in by the Atlantic. If you want to walk corridors frequented by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, this is the place for you. The hotel is a short walk along the promenade from Biarritz itself. Passing the ice cream sellers you end up in the narrow cobbled streets of the old town where chic restaurants and designer shops sit alongside turreted villas and Basque style townhouses. We had dinner in Bouillon Hortense, a popular bistro just back from the beach, French classics with a real sense of generosity (our rum baba was served with a bottle of rum for topping up). Surfing is a big part of Biarritz's identity — people here are fluent in 'dude'. Seventy years ago an American screenwriter arrived to make a movie and looked out to sea. He immediately had his board shipped over from Los Angeles — and European surfing was born. This stretch of coast brims with cool cafés, bars and surfshops catering for the armies of wave-seekers who flock here from Australia and California. If barrels, backwash and reef breaks aren't your thing, there are good swimming spots too, patrolled by lifeguards. Plage du Port Vieux right in the centre of town is particularly serene and has a great bar called Eden Rock for sunset drinks. Those sunsets are not guaranteed, however: Atlantic coastal weather is notoriously fickle. Although cloudy weather provides a good excuse to walk the coastal path, as we did, from the lighthouse to the old fishing port, lined with great fish restaurants. From here we visited the Halles des Biarritz food market, bursting with oysters, prawns, cheese, patisserie and lucky locals doing their daily shopping. This is a tourist town that still manages to feel utterly authentic. In a tiny store called Art of Soule the owner explained, with great passion, his mission to revive traditional espadrille making while supporting local surfwear brands. He also recommended Bistrot Du Haou on Rue Gambetta where we found an excellent two-course lunch for €20 and an exuberant crowd enjoying bottles of red and delicious local steaks. Next day, we rented electric bikes and set off south on the corniche coastal path. It was an easy cycle to the splendidly named Plage de la Milady and then on to Guéthary with its great choice of village restaurants and splendid views along the rocky coast. It's also a stop on the rail line if you don't fancy the cycle back. Bikes returned, rest earned, we hit the stunning Hôtel du Palais pool with its clifftop views of the waves. Reading the latest Robert Harris novel, I nearly fell off my sunlounger. In the book, the author recounts what happened when Herbert Asquith won the 1910 General Election. Since Edward VII was once again at his favourite holiday spot in France, the new prime minister had to catch the boat train so he could travel to kiss the hand of the monarch. That took place in a salon, you guessed it, at the Hôtel du Palais. Good enough for all the big names of the past hundred years — and definitely good enough for us. Stephen Jardine was a guest of Hôtel du Palais (B&B doubles from £388, Fly to Biarritz from Paris from about £90 return (
Daily Mirror
19-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Abandoned UK island untouched for nearly a century just yards from seaside town
An impressive fortress built upon a tiny island just 800 yards from a popular UK seaside town has transformed itself into a haven for wildlife, after it disarmed and abandoned back in 1929 A crumbling but 'magical' fortress built on a tiny island has taken on a new life after being deserted by humans for decades. Disrupting the otherwise, calm and crystal-clear waters of the Milford Haven Waterway in Pembrokeshire, Wales, stands the impressive Stack Rock Fort. Constructed to protect the UK against sea invasion, this grade-listed 2 building is a two-tiered mega structure featuring casemates (aka gun emplacements) on each level, as well as a roof-top gun platform. The original idea to build Stack Rock reportedly stems back to Thomas Cromwell in 1539, but it wasn't actually constructed until 1850-1852. Upgrades to the fort later took place from 1859 to 1871, welcoming a new building that completely encased the original gun tower. Now looking a little worse for wear, Stack Rock is still visible from the mainland, located just 800 yards off the coast of Milford Haven. This tiny seaside town has slowly transformed its industrial reputation into a booming tourist destination thanks to its stylishly redeveloped marina and bustling food scene. The fort, which has been described as a 'time capsule', was deemed essential to defend the country against French aggression under Napoleon III, but its importance started to dwindle and by 1895 - most of the artillery inside had been removed. It was later manned by a small number of soldiers during World War One., but never really saw combat. In 1929, Stack Rock was officially disarmed and fully abandoned, before being sold several times on the private market. Like many of the UK's abandoned islands - including the remote St Kilda and the doughnut-shaped Outer Trial Bank island off the Lincolnshire coast - Stack Rock Fort has been reclaimed by nature. Now sporting lush greenery, weeds, and moss in every crevice, the isle has become a sanctuary for several types of seabirds in the area. Today, the only threat the fort needs to brace itself for is seagull droppings and invasive ivy. According to the BBC, the island was bought by Anoniiem back in 2020 for an undisclosed sum. However, the community interest company intends to preserve the fort as a 'living ruin' and has ruled out transforming the structure into a luxury accommodation site. Anoniiem's company director Nick said: "We want to preserve it in its current state, not in its formal use, so if it can be stabilised as it is, in this amazing combination of nature and architecture, that's the goal. It's definitely a passion project, it's definitely not a money earner, there are no plans for a five-star hotel or any of these kind of things. It's a stabilisation accessibility project and preserving it for the future."
National Geographic
05-06-2025
- National Geographic
See France's Basque coast through the eyes of a photographer
The pearl of France's Basque coast, Biarritz has long been a playground for European high society. Today, the town and its neighbours retain a nostalgic charm, with visitors drawn to the region for fine dining, belle epoque architecture and surf breaks. The harbour at St-Jean-de-Luz offers a view to Ciboure, south of Biarritz, where the town and its neighbours retain a nostalgic charm. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor Story and photographs by Mark Parren Taylor This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). The French city of Biarritz lies on the Bay of Biscay in the Basque region, just 22 miles from the border with Spain. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor A one-time whaling village, in the mid-18th century it gained popularity as a spa, when 'sea-baths' were believed to ease all manner of ailments. A hundred years later, Emperor Napoleon III built a palatial villa (now the Hôtel du Palais) for his Spanish-born consort Eugenie. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor The couple's summertime sojourns made the belle époque-era seaside town popular with European royalty. But crowns and tiaras could not outshine the land's unique Basque heritage, evident in its language, artistic expression and food culture. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor Basque cuisine remains popular to this day, from the traditional bakeries that serve cheesecake-like etxeko bixkotxa or Gâteau Basque to contemporary restaurants like Marloe. Here, chef Eric Martins (above) serves fine pays Basque produce such as Ossau-Iraty cheese, best enjoyed with quince or local Espelette peppers. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor Some of Biarritz's beaches — such as the Plage du Port des Pêcheurs — sit in rocky coves, sheltered from the Atlantic breakers that pummel other parts of the coast, including the town's central Grande Plage. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor - - It makes them popular with novice surfers, who practise here during June and July, when the waves are at their smallest. The more experienced prefer the beaches near the village of Guéthary, known for their big breaks. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor The coast has become a place of pilgrimage for French surfers, but Biarritz and other towns on the Côte Basque witnessed another type of pilgrim centuries before: the Way of St James passes through en route to Spain's Santiago de Compostela. Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor Near Biarritz's Halles (market hall), the cafe at Hotel Saint-James has welcomed guests since the 19th century, with devout Christians and seasoned surfers no doubt among them. The town of Bayonne marks the northern extent of the cross-border 'Basque Eurocity'. This urban region embraces France's Côte Basque and Spain's Euskadi coastline around San Sebastián, 30 miles end to end. Bayonne is just five miles inland from Biarritz and is famed for its medieval old town, which sits on a honeycomb of 130 medieval cellars, used by the town's merchants to store their goods. The railway reached Bayonne in 1855, a few years before the line extended to Biarritz. Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie rode the 'iron horse' all the way from Paris to the elegant station here before a real horse and carriage transported them the final leg to their new villa in the dunes. Nowadays, guests might enjoy a simple breakfast of coffee and croissants at the Hôtel du Palais, perhaps not dissimilar to one enjoyed by the imperial couple all those years ago. Published in the June 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
Bringing 'Cha' to the World: International Expositions and the 'Selling' of Japanese Tea
The prototype for today's international expositions, where countries from around the world showcase new products and their specialties and which provide opportunities for cultural exchanges and business talks, is said to be the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London in 1851. Scholars Yoshino Ako and Ido Kōichi explore Japan's participation in modern world's fairs, starting from the 1867 Paris Exposition through to the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair. In Kindai banpaku to cha: Sekai ga odoroita Nihon no kissagaikō shi (Modern World Expositions and Tea: A History of Japan's Tea Diplomacy), the authors, who researched newspaper reports and other historical materials and visited former expo sites, provide a chronological rundown on the connection between these fairs and the spread of Japanese tea and tea culture. The Birth of Wakōcha Exports The Tokugawa shogunate sent a delegation from Japan, headed by Tokugawa Akitake, younger brother of shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, to the 1867 Paris Exposition, organized by French emperor Napoleon III. Among the delegation's members were Shibusawa Eiichi, later known as the 'father of the Japanese capitalism,' and at the shōgun's request, representatives of the powerful domains of Satsuma and Saga. The book relates that the Japanese pavilion's tearoom created a sensation among Parisians and that the exhibit was awarded a silver medal by Napoleon III. Japanese tea was featured, marking the start of the relationship between ocha and world expositions. A photo from the book showing kimono-clad women at the Japanese pavilion's tearoom at the 1867 Paris Exposition. (© Album/Quintlox/Kyōdō) In 1873, Saga Prefecture exhibited kōcha , or black tea, at the Vienna World's Fair. While Japan's principal tea beverage was unfermented green tea, but authorities from Saga had learned at the 1867 Paris Exposition that black tea, created by fermenting tea leaves, was preferable for export to Europe. Subsequently, tea growers throughout Japan began producing wakōcha , black tea grown and produced in Japan, which, according to the authors, was a historic moment for the Japanese tea industry. Incidentally, Buddhist monk Baisaō (1675–1763), founder of senchadō variation of the Japanese tea ceremony distinguished by its use of green tea leaves rather than matcha , hailed from Saga, the birthplace of wakōcha . Introducing the 'Way of Tea' International expositions were also a way of introducing Japan's tea culture to the world. At the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia, held to mark the 100th anniversary of US independence, a list of exhibits contains three references to 'cha-no-yu.' The authors note in their book that this may be the first mention of sadō , the Japanese tea ceremony, in an official document. At the 1878 Paris Exposition, the Japanese pavilion included a tea house; a pamphlet in French explained the history of sadō . According to the book, industrialist, art collector, and founder of the Mitsui trading house Masuda Takashi (1848–1938) dispatched three carpenters from Japan to erect the structure. Later in life, Masuda became a tea ceremony master under the name Donnō. Okakura Kakuzō (or Tenshin, 1868–1913), best known for his The Book of Tea that was published in New York in 1906, acted as a presenter of Japan's tea culture at two world fairs. He wrote an explanatory pamphlet in English about the Hōōden tea house at the Japanese pavilion at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, he spoke on the artistic cachet of 'cha-no-yu.' Spotlight on Japanese Women Although featuring Japanese tea at world expositions first and foremost reflected the government's export promotion policy, tea also played a role in promoting Japanese culture, which is described in the book through the contributions of Japanese women. The Japanese pavilion's tearoom at the 1867 Paris Exposition, Japan's first world's fair, was attended by three geisha who had traveled to Paris for the occasion. At the time, the Japanese women were an object of fascination among the French public, and many people flocked to see them. At the Panama–Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco in 1915, the Japanese pavilion featured a Japanese tearoom made of cypress that was attended by seven young 'tea girls' wearing kimono with long, flowing sleeves. A February 2, 1915, article in the local Japanese-language newspaper The Japanese American News reported on the women's arrival in San Francisco, describing them as 'well-educated young ladies from good families' that included the daughters of a high-ranking government official and of a navy admiral. At the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, 10 nisei (second-generation Japanese-American) women were hired to staff the Japanese pavilion's tearoom. They were also featured on picture postcards and in advertising materials for Japanese green tea. That fair also showcased the Rinkōtei tearoom, which was furnished with tables and chairs. The tearoom had been donated by Masuda to foster friendship between Japan and the United States. The tea was prepared by the 20-year-old daughter of a Japanese surgeon who had been sent from Japan for the occasion. Japanese Tea Presence Boosted at US World Fairs During the days of empire when the Western powers ruled the world, tea was an important international commodity. Green tea and semi-fermented oolong tea along with black tea grown in China and exported to Europe and North America dominated the market at the time. The British Empire, dependent on tea imports from China, fought back by setting up huge plantations for Assam black tea in its colonial territories of India and Ceylon (today Sri Lanka). Beginning in the late nineteenth century, when Japan established its own empire, green tea was exported mainly to the United States. In the aftermath of the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), Taiwan became a Japanese colony, and oolong and other teas from Taiwan were also exported to the United States via Japan. The book includes details about the Taiwan tearooms at the St. Louis, San Francisco, and Paris world expositions. Robert Hellyer, a researcher of the modern tea trade, also makes an appearance in the book. Hellyer is a descendant of the nineteenth-century founders of Hellyer & Company, a Nagasaki-based tea exporter that Hellyer mentions in his book Green with Milk and Sugar: When Japan Filled America's Tea Cups . In the work, Hellyer describes how Japanese green tea became popular in the US Midwest beginning in the late 1800s, so much so that it was called 'green tea country.' Hellyer believes that the world's fairs in the midwestern cities of St. Louis and Chicago helped raise awareness of green tea in the region. But this tea trade ended abruptly with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan lost its empire with its defeat in 1945, and the government's prewar ambitions of having Japanese tea take over global markets evaporated with it. Yoshino and Ido conclude their book by noting that Japanese tea exports have begun rising again. Japan has, of course, gone on to host six international expositions of its own, starting with the 1970 Osaka Expo, the first held in Asia. I have heard that many events at the current exposition, Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, also incorporate the concept of omotenashi hospitality embodied by sadō . The Playground of Life: Jellyfish Pavilion, especially, exemplifies the spirit of tea, and I am looking forward to new relationships emerging between Japanese tea and world expositions. Kindai banpaku to cha: Sekai ga odoroita Nihon no kissagaikō shi (Modern World Expositions and Tea: A History of Japan's Tea Diplomacy) By Yoshino Ako and Ido KōichiPublished by Tankōsha Publishing in February, 2025 ISBN: 978-4-473-04660-4
LeMonde
20-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
France plans to build maximum-security prison in French Guiana, angering local officials
France plans to build a maximum-security prison wing for drug traffickers and Islamic militants near a former penal colony in French Guiana, sparking an outcry among residents and local officials. The wing would form part of a $450 million prison announced in 2017 that is expected to be completed by 2028 and hold 500 inmates. The prison would be built in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a town bordering Suriname that once received prisoners shipped by Napoleon III in the 1800s, some of whom were sent to the notorious Devil's Island off the coast of French Guiana. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced plans to build the high-security wing during an official visit to French Guiana on Saturday, May 17. He said in a Facebook post that 15 of the wing's 60 spaces would be reserved for Islamic militants. Darmanin was quoted by Le Journal du Dimanche, a French weekly newspaper, as saying that the prison also aims to keep suspected drug traffickers from having any contact with their criminal networks. "We are seeing more and more drug trafficking networks," he told reporters in French Guiana. "We must react." The announcement angered many in French Guiana, an overseas French department located in South America. It was once an infamous colony known for holding French political prisoners, including Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who was wrongly convicted of being a spy and spent five years on Devil's Island, from 1894-1899. 'Astonishment and indignation' Jean-Paul Fereira, acting president of French Guiana's territorial collective, an assembly of 51 lawmakers that oversees local government affairs, said they were taken aback by the announcement since the plan to build a high-security wing was never discussed with them ahead of time. "It is therefore with astonishment and indignation that the elected members of the Collectivity discovered, together with the entire population of Guiana, the information detailed in Le Journal Du Dimanche," he wrote in a statement posted Sunday on social media. Fereira said the move was disrespectful and insulting, noting that the agreement French Guiana signed in 2017 was for the construction of a new prison meant to alleviate overpopulation at the main prison. "While all local elected officials have long been calling for strong measures to curb the rise of organized crime in our territory, Guiana is not meant to welcome criminals and radicalized people from (mainland France)," he wrote. Also decrying the plan was Jean-Victor Castor, a member of Parliament in French Guiana. He said he wrote directly to France's prime minister to express his concerns, noting that the decision was taken without consulting local officials. "It's an insult to our history, a political provocation and a colonial regression," Castor wrote in a statement issued Sunday as he called on France to withdraw the project.
