Does anyone have any feedback on the Grand Hotel or other *** or higher hotels in St. Jean de Luz. We hope that this will be a better choice than Biarritz or San Sebastian, as well as base for daytrips to Basque towns?

Robert,<BR>The Edwardian looking (built in 1909) Grand Hotel is lovely; just re-opened last yr. after a complete make-over. Friendly, not stuffy, beautifully decorated rms (ask for one overlooking beach), apt. even has its own private pool, lovely ocean view Rosewood d. room has great desserts, indoor pool, thalassotherapy center next door, -everything you could want for in a deluxe, beachside hotel. <BR> <BR>Easy hop to the lovely Pays Basque villages of Ascain, Ainhoa, Sare, Espelette, Cambo-les-Bains, Bastide Clairence, can even go down as far as Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Etiennee-de-Baigorry. Pastoral beauty everywhere you look.<BR><BR>And don't forget interesting Bayonne with its two terrific museums-the newly remodeled Basque Museum (fascinating) and the Bonnat Museum, both very worhy of a day's visit, plus a fabulous lunch nearby at Auberge du Cheval Blanc.<BR>(just did this last week...sigh...)

I second Basque Lover. We arrived in San Sebastian a few years back withoout reservations and quickly fled to St. Jean de Luz. (Husband said: "to hell with this. Let's go to France!) If we had known better that would have been our first pick. <BR>Forget the name of the hotel we stayed in ( not grand) but St Jean de Luz left a lasting impression.

Is it possible at all to see some outlaying towns without renting a car? Tours, buses, etc?

Sue,<BR>That's hard; the gorgeous Basque countryside is best seen leisurely by car. There are so many delightful, atmospheric little towns to stop in and explore and so many welcoming farms to stop at in route to pick up some local black cherry preserves, gateaux basque, brebis cheese, duck confit, red pepper powder, Irouleguy wines, and on and on... Plus in the summer, there's a Basque folk/music festival going on every minute (literally!). Pick up a brochure of "Fetes 2002" in any tourist office; you simply can't keep up with them all! From folk dancing to Basque brute strength contests and Pottoka pony competitions, organ recitals, male choruses, jai alai, fireworks, the "toro del fuego"... We've learned to base ourselves in the countryside for 4-5 days to take all of these in at a leisurely pace. <BR><BR>However, regarding public transportation:<BR>There is a slow poke "Errobi" train that runs Mon. and Fri. only in July/Aug. from the station in Bayonne (departure at 9:00) to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port (returns at 6:35). On Thurs. it runs from Bayonne (9:00) to Bidarry (return at 6:58). On Tues. runs from Bayonne (9:00) to the Baigorry Valley (returns at 6:49). I've never taken these train excursions, just copying the info from the brochure I picked up in St. Jean.<BR>The tourist offices in St. Jean de Luz, Bayonne, St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port or St.-Etienne-de-Baigorry can give you<BR>more details. <BR><BR>I guarantee that if you decide to visit the Pays Basque, you'll fall in love with it.

Thank you for all the suggestions. We finally decided on St. Jean de Luz as a base, hopefully we can break away from the beach to do all the day trips. We only have 4 days, and we would like to see Biarritz, San Sebastian, Bayonne, and will have to check on all the others. We much prefer typical small towns.

We stayed in St Jean de Luz last year and it was the best holiday I have ever had.<BR>As for not having a car, this was absolutely no problem as trains from St Jean de Luz cover a good range. We visited Bayonne ( and the Auberge du cheval blanc IS fantastic), Bordeaux, Biarritz and Bilbao all within a week yet still had a very relaxing holiday! You can also get to Paris very easily, although it is a long trip. Trains are fast, clean and reliable - and serve very good beer!<BR>There is a restaurant close to the train station in St Jean, next to the port ( Basque name which I can't remember ) which provided us with the best meal of our lives - lobster & champagne.Absolutely fantastic place, will never forget it!