2020-06-30
A summer in the Basque Country: atypical discoveries !!
Visit the Basque Country differently ...
Did you dream of attending Louis XIV's wedding, visiting Cyrano de Bergerac, a nod to Luis Mariano ... ??
It's here ! The Basque country is known and recognized for its quality of life, beaches, golf, surfing ... but there are also much more exotic occupations: come and discover a multi-faceted destination:
Here are some key personalities in the Basque country for a cultural summer 2020;)
And no, you are not in Scotland, but near the Spanish border, at the Château d'Abbadie, built at the end of the 19th century for Antoine d'Abbadie, ethnologist, geographer, man of science ...
The castle was built on plans by Edmond Duthoit and his master Eugène Viollet Le duc, a famous 19th century architect known for having renovated monuments as diverse as Notre-Dame, the Saint Denis basilica, Carcassonne, the Châteaux of Pierrefonds and Roquetaillade ...
https://www.chateau-abbadia.fr
Visit Edmond Rostand, the author of the famous Cyrano de Bergerac, who built the Villa Arnaga in Cambo les Bains. Go there on a clear day, to enjoy the superb gardens of more than 15 hectares (one side of the French house, and the other English), and the view of the Pyrenees !! The neo-Basque-style house looks like a traditional Basque house on the outside (very large!), But the interiors will amaze you: a real theater decor.
Unmissable in Saint Jean de Luz, you have to make a detour to the Saint Jean Baptist church and the Louis XIV house. This one built in 1643 by Joannis de Lohobiague, shipowner from Luzien. The property is private, inhabited, and has always been owned by the same family since its construction. Louis XIV resided there in May 1660, when he married the Infanta of Spain. Do not miss!
http://www.maison-louis-xiv.fr...
A few steps further, enter the church of Saint John the Baptist, where Louis XIV's wedding took place: do not hope to follow in their footsteps: according to legend, the door used by the couple to enter the church has been walled up so that no other couple can borrow it… The altarpiece is monumental and contrasts with the simplicity of the rest of the church, with its 3 long galleries, very classic of the churches of the Basque Country.
https://www.saint-jean-de-luz....
A few minutes on foot, in the port of Saint Jean de Luz, pass in front of the house of composer Maurice Ravel: he was born there in 1875. This Dutch-style house was built by a Cibourian shipowner Esteban d´Etcheto. For the record, the house hosted a famous guest: Cardinal Mazarin during the wedding festivities of Louis XIV.
http://www.ciboure-paysbasque....
In 1890, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the famous organ builder, received an original order: to design a gigantic instrument around which a house would be built for the Baron de l'Espée, a great fortune of the time and heir to the Wendel family.
Built in 1898 by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, today it is the great organ of the Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre !!
There are a number of anecdotes about this original man, maniac for hygiene: the property is crisscrossed with covered paths to be able to be walked in all directions and to enjoy all points of view sheltered from the sun and the sea. rain. In total, fifteen buildings, equipped with telephones, and thirty-five shelters are added to the main building !! On the outskirts of Biarritz on the road to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the Château d'Ulbarritz fascinates with a strange and sinister aspect facing the elements.
Even today, fans come to lay flowers at Arcangues cemetery every summer (plus the place is charming). Luis Mariano died on July 14 in Arcangues: for the youngest, he is a very popular operetta singer for Mexico, the beauty of Cadiz….
Driven from Belgrade by her husband King Milan I, Natalie, Queen of Serbia, finds refuge in Bidart where she has a magnificent building built. (Deceived by her husband, chased away and her murdered son ...) But the building is superb, you can admire it from Ilbarritz golf course. The view is not to be missed.
Béarn: an idea of a getaway inland: spend a night in a castle which was the last home of the musketeer Porthos, with a view of the neighboring town of Aramits, birthplace of Aramis, companion of arms of Porthos. This is the opportunity to immerse yourself in a novel by Alexandre Dumas.
