The beautiful details of Biarritz initially escaped me. The architecture was charming with mostly white buildings donning iron wrought balconies and the streets looked like a lot of other European cities’. But after walking around for some time, I quickly realized that the buildings weren’t just “mostly white” but a palette of different shades of neutrals — from blush to sand to champagne to ivory. There was a sharp contrast between the more modern buildings and the older quaint-looking residences made of stone but it all mismatched harmoniously. There was even so much beauty in the more rustic, dilapidated buildings that I couldn’t help but think if maybe the signs of negligence were intentional just to get this look.

The natural, rocky structures around town varied in color and texture and uniquely framed everything we saw including the lighthouse and its beaches. We took the walking path from the main beach, La Grande Plage, to La Côte des Basques, the surf beach, and what a gorgeous walk it was. Much to our surprise, the water was super calm with a few mini ripples passing through and it resembled much more of a lake rather than the infamous sea that had birthed the sport of surfing in Europe. The beach shops and umbrellas added muted and pastel stripes to the scene. But the part that really stuck with me was the horizon I saw while there. Never have I seen a horizon glow like the way it did in Biarritz. When the sky and ocean met, it was simple, lacking any drama of waves or clouds and had me mesmerized.