Visit date: May 2, 2016, afternoon
Peace of mind! French Basque tour.
Beyond the Pyrenees into French territory
Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route, back to French territory along the Le Puy road. The purpose of coming to the French territory was to conquer the Le Puy road, but another important purpose was to visit the most beautiful villages in France.
Passing through Roncesvalles, over the Ibañeta Pass and down the hill for a while, we entered France. The road signs also change to French style. Oh, what a sense of relief. After all, France is the origin of European driving for me, and although the basic rules are the same, I feel relieved when I see this style of sign.
The Basque Country straddles the French side and the Spanish side. The French side of the Basque Country, the so-called French Basque, is actually a treasure trove of beautiful villages. Of course, I’ve been there once before. However, since it was newly registered as one of the most beautiful villages in 2014, and since I had visited it once before, but I couldn’t take my time to explore it at that time, I had to visit it as a person who claims to be a complete conqueror. Therefore, I came over the Pyrenees.
I’ve already introduced this place in the series of the most beautiful villages in France, so this time I’m going to introduce all the previous posts about the beautiful villages I visited during this GW.
For all other posts related to the most beautiful villages in France, please see below.
France’s Most Beautiful Villages Compilation 1: « Navarrenx » (Navarrin)
A beautiful village newly added in 2014. Strictly speaking, it does not seem to be in the Basque Country. This is also one of the base villages on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route « Le Puy road ». With this visit, I can call myself a « complete conqueror of the most beautiful villages in France » again after almost two years.
France’s Most Beautiful Villages Compilation 2: « La Bastide Clairence
First visit since May 2011. At that time, the central passage of the village was under construction and we couldn’t enter. Now we could finally take our time to explore the interior. It is the most beautiful village in the French Basque Country.
France’s Most Beautiful Villages Compilation 3: « Saint Jean Pied de Port
訪問時はまだ美しい村リスト入りしていませんでしたが、訪問直後の2016年7月より新しくリスト入りした村。サンティアゴ・デ・コンポステーラ巡礼路「ル・ピュイの道」上にある拠点の村で、特にピレネー超えの手前にあるということで非常に有名な村です。観光客、巡礼者でとても賑わっていました。
