Bayonne

Located at the confluence of the Adour and Nive Rivers, Bayonne was a Roman castrum (fort) in the 4th century and an English colony from 1151 to 1451; today it is the proud capital of the Pays Basque. Even though its port is spread out along an estuary some 5 km (3 miles) inland from the sea, two rivers and five bridges lend this small city a definite maritime feel. From the elegant 18th-century homes along Rue des Prébendés to the 17th-century ramparts and the market stalls of Place des Halles, it is a city worth wandering.