Hotels in Bayonne, France

A little about Bayonne...

Bayonne is a city and commune of southwest France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

Together with nearby Anglet, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and several smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with 178,965 inhabitants at the 1999 census, 40,078 of whom lived in the city of Bayonne proper (44,300 as of 2004 estimates).

The communes of Bayonne, Biarritz, and Anglet have joined into an intercommunal entity called the Communauté d'agglomération de Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz.

Bayonne is the main town of Labourd and it is part of the French Basque Country.

Bayonne has the longest tradition of bull-fighting in France and there is a ring beyond the walls of Grand Bayonne. The season runs between July and September. Bull-fighting is a major part of the five-day Fêtes de Bayonne which starts on the first Wednesday of August and attracts people from across the Basque Country and beyond. Parades, music, dance, fireworks, food and drink all feature in the celebrations. Soon after the Assumption festival of 15 August heralds a few more days of bull-fights.

There are also important festivals of Jazz (July), Bayonne ham (Holy Week), theatre and pelota (the Basque sport).

Aviron Bayonnais is the city's rugby union club, founded in 1904 and French champions three times, in 1913, 1934 and 1943. The local football team is Aviron Bayonnais FC.

Transportation: Bayonne is on the high-speed TGV line between Paris and Hendaye for connections with Spain. In practice, the line slows considerably beyond Bordeaux although there are plans to improve the service. There are regional rail services along the Basque coast, to Pau and through the Landes to Dax and Bordeaux. There is a line along the Nive valley through Labourd and Nafarroa Beherea to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, used principally by tourists and hikers.

There are extensive bus connections with Biarritz, Anglet and surrounding villages. The city is near the intersection between the A63 autoroute between Bordeaux and the Spanish border and the A64 from Bayonne to Toulouse.

Bayonne has airport Aéroport de Biarritz-Anglet-Bayonne, its 6 km away from the city towards Anglet .Its just opposite of N10 road. It's a joined airport with Biarritz and Anglet with flights to destinations across France as well Europe.

Bayonne is known for its fine chocolates, produced in the town for 500 years, and Bayonne ham, a cured ham seasoned with peppers from nearby Espelette. Izarra, the liqueur made in bright green or yellow colours, is distilled locally. It is said by some that Bayonne is the birthplace of mayonnaise, supposedly a corruption of Bayonnaise, the French adjective describing the city's people and produce. Now bayonnaise can refer to a particular mayonnaise flavoured with the Espelette chillis.

Bayonne is now the centre of certain craft industries that were once widespread, including the manufacture of makilas, traditional Basque walking-sticks. The Fabrique Alza just outside the city is known for its palas, bats used in pelota, the traditional Basque sport.

As of 1935, its chief industries were shipbuilding, tanning, and pottery. In the late 20th century, the processing of by-products from the Lacq natural gas field near Pau became important, although Bayonne has had higher-than-average unemployment. Metallurgy also provides local jobs.