FRENCH CITY TOUR: Discover Bayonne, a Historic Gem of the French Basque Country

FRENCH CITY TOUR: Discover Bayonne, a Historic Gem of the French Basque Country

[Music] [Music] hello I’m Joanna leit we’re here today to discover Bion The Fabulous city of Bion we’ll see behind me the santis spr bridge which covers the river ardor and it separates PTI Bon from the grand Bon which is the big city that we’re going to discover today now Bon is the cultural Hub of the pay Basque it has many festivals beautiful architect a fabulous Cathedral um and we’re going to go and have a dis and go and discover that right now let’s come and have a look so we’re here now at the Neeve River this filters off from the ardor river which is the bridge that we just crossed um this runs all the way through the city of Bon which you can see behind me here the architecture is absolutely fabulous and there’s so much going on here it’s a university town so there’s a lot of young people there’s bars restaurants there’s stores there’s museums um it’s a real cultural Hub as I mentioned before of the pque region which is in the southwest of France just on the border of Spain so you get a little bit of Spanish influence in this pretty city as well so let’s go and explore it so behind me you’ll see the Museum of the beon museum which is full of the history but to be honest you can just walk around all these little streets and you’ll see the living history of the city of Bon now what’s interesting is it dates back to the ran times and it was a central strategic military place where a lot of decisions were made there’s a fortified castle that is over in the distance that you might be able to see and the interesting thing with basket is literally one side is France and the other side is Spain but in the Basque Country itself they have their own language they speak Basque you will see signs written in this language along with French of course um and they have their traditional cuisine which you will taste if you eating some of the restaurants here um but we’re going to go and have a look at the fabulous architecture the wonderful cathedral which you can hear the bells from now if you can hear them in the background brilliant Market Square so let’s go and have a look now here we have a typical design um material this is a the tissue Delo now this is a very typical style that you will find in this pay Basque area particularly in Bon I always try to bring something home from my kitchen from this sort of areas you’ll see it’s very bright colors very strong lines very symmetrical um and this Shop sells many many materials that will be really popular um and you’ll recognize this design when you’re traveling around the pay Basque area just go and buy something so what I love about all these houses is the different colors you’ve got the Reds the blues they’re all very tall and thin in architecture and many different floors with the stores underneath now of course we’re in Bon and what is Bon famous for it’s jambon de Bon so you will have this dried ham wherever you go in the world but this is actually where it originates from and you can see some of the hams hanging up here in this wonderful buery um that sells all sorts of things but of course the famous Jamon so there’s lots of stores here this is a typical one Basque um this is the logo here of The Basque farmer and you’ll actually see that it’s written in Basque on the top of the shop katsky clothing is written in The Basque language not in the French and there’s loads of these lovely stores with beautiful [Music] designs so you can see all the different types of architecture here you’ve got the colage which is the timber framed a bit like CH chudar England used to be on my right um and it’s amazing how they’ve managed to fit in um even the tiniest of houses which I think I’d need to go on a diet to live in this house all the way out four stories tiny little rooms but let’s go and see the absolute Masterpiece of Bayon city which is the cathedral [Music] so this is the gothic style Cathedral of s Marie De Bion what we’re going to see inside is absolutely fabulous they have original paintings that normally get destroyed or are washed away um but in this one they are so unique it’s absolutely fantastic so let’s go and have a look at those oh [Music] [Music] so this Cathedral has so many masterpieces of art you can see the grand huge paintings behind me it’s very very difficult to date them but they are expected that they were painted during the years the cathedral was built which is between the 13th and the 16th century this Cathedral is absolutely full of masterpieces you could spend a whole day in here itself just looking at them [Music] [Music] so we’re now inside the wonderful cloysters just at the side of the cathedral now these were built in the 13th 14th century and it was a multi-purpose area you would have people selling all their wees undercover of the Sun and also the rain um it was also a cemetery was used as a cemetery there we have the bells just on Queue they’d be in a mass um so there was lots of functions that these coers were used for but they literally are magnificent and they’ve literally been here since the 13th and 14th century and if you peek through the middle you’ll be able to see the wonderful towers of the cedral that are currently under small renovation work so here we are have the remains of some of the tombs here as we go through the cloysters and un fortunately in the revolution quite a lot of them lost their faces and their heads some more beautifully carved Stones here another headless statue it seems such a shame that the art has been destroyed here by beheading the wonderful pieces of art this little streets full of Little Stores really colorful design as well can have a look in a few boutiques [Music] [Music] so here we are at a little carve a little wine store carve the Pines um and one of the wines I really love from here is IG it’s the type of grape that you would get from the Pyrenees region and that’s another thing to remember that we are at the foot of the Pyrenees so you could be in the mountains in the afternoon down on the beach at beitz 20 minutes away um in in the morning all the afternoon as well and everything here is very authentic it hasn’t changed for centuries which I love particularly this lovely little wine store now for Ador Ador is the name of the river and obviously there was a forge on the on the river that would have made these big metal and iron barbecue sets or uh ham cutting machines it’s now a brand for Jour it’s very expensive beautiful concept look at this barbecue €3,000 oh and here is the airon bones that’s a very famous rowing team from this area and they’re very very proud of themselves they even have their own brand and literally at the end of the street is one of the big stadi stadiums cuz they’re also very proud of their rugby so behind me you see a bar that’s the typical colors that are in The Basque Country um and you’ll actually see it’s called bar Basque but it also has the Basque flag just above it [Music] real [Music] human now I’m actually here on the ramp parts of the city now what you might not know is behind me you’ll see the remains of Two Towers there’s actually nine of these fortifying the city from the Roman times the city used to be called lepom and there is actually still nine Towers standing around the whole town of Bay on um so you’ve got to come and see it we haven’t been able to show you everything in this tour today um but it really is an ancient piece of history with the ramparts Botanic Gardens there’s so much to see here and you know some of this history goes back to the 4th century [Music] great Hotel here the hotel de bass Pyrenees which means it’s on the low part of the Pyrenees so we’re right at the foot of the mountains but we’re also on the ocean it’s such a great location to live because you really have the best of both worlds and this is a typical Square in the city of Bayon and this is full for dinner this evening it’s going to be fabulous as you can see here this street really portrays the colors of the Basque Country um is very similar to The Basque flag this dark green and this red and even as you move down into other cities or towns like sanjan Delo which is the next one down on the way to Spain they use exactly the same colors the dark red against the cream and the dark green really typical Basque so we’re coming past another one of the Roman towers of the nine towers of the city um and you can see that the houses all along here this would have been the walls of the city with the towers being on the outskirts um there are some of the best preserved Towers in France from the 4th Century um when the Romans were here and you can see that the footings were built so well that the properties are actually built on top of them that’s how great the Romans were with her architecture so now we’re going to head on to the undercover markets Hall um this probably would have been originally made of wood um but now they’re preserved so it’s open every single day with lots of fresh food and ve in the morning so let’s go have a look in [Music] there so this is the the pl just next to the river where the Market Square is now the markets in France are generally only open till about 1:00 in the afternoon so you can come and buy all your fresh produce they’ve got wonderful cheeses and hams um lots of fresh veg you can have a little drink in there you can eat some oysters in there um you know it’s a really great meeting point for the mornings um and have a lovely cup of coffee in one of these lovely little coffee bars just next to the river so I hope you enjoyed that mini tour of Bon I wish we had time to take you to the other side of the river and see pity Bon um there’s some wonderful things that go on here on from the 10th to the 14th of July every year there’s a amazing festival and you wouldn’t believe it the whole streets are completely packed with culinary dishes there’s music there’s events there’s street performers It’s a Wonderful Festival every year in July um so if you’ve enjoyed this tour and you interested in property buying a property in Bon we have a wonderful agent Marian who can show you some great properties that she has on her books um and we hope that you can have a look at our website below and you’ll see some other properties from some of our agents that will be on our books let me know what you think about Bon um and we’re going to head off now to Bitz and do a mini tour of that town thanks for watching and hopefully see you soon [Music]

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Join Joanna Leggett as she explores the enchanting city of Bayonne, the cultural heart of the French Basque Country. From the iconic Bridge to the vibrant River, Bayonne boasts a rich history dating back to Roman times. Wander through its charming streets, marvel at the stunning Gothic Cathedral of Sainte-Marie, and experience the unique blend of French and Spanish influences. Don’t miss the local markets, delightful shops, and authentic Basque cuisine. Whether you’re fascinated by history, architecture, or simply looking for a picturesque destination, Bayonne offers something for everyone. Plan your visit to this captivating city today!

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