Eté 2025: Le Pays Basque!
16-26 juillet 2025
(This tour is in French language only)
mercredi 16 juillet: Bienvenue à Bayonne!
Apéritif d’accueil in our new surroundings and welcome dinner in one of Bayonne’s inviting restaurants along the banks of the Nive. DÎNER
jeudi 17 juillet: La ville [l’esthétique: le patrimoine]
We’ll start today’s activities a bit later to help ease the jet lag. Nothing like a lovely morning jaunt throughout our new town to discover the coins et recoins of Bayonne with our guide. After lunch together, we’ll return to our seminar room where we’ll learn about the intriguing history of the Basque Country, and you’ll discover, among other things, that 4 + 3 = 1. DÉJEUNER
vendredi 18 juillet: Le pays basque au delà de la frontière [la famille et la communauté]
Our Basque seminar leader will lead us through more intriguing Basque customs and culture, whether in the actual Basque country or outside, and we’ll begin our mini-braderie of teaching ideas this morning. Our afternoon visit will reinforce our understanding of Basque traditions as we visit the renowned Musée Basque, situated in a stunning 17th c. mansion on the banks of the Nive. Full of folklore, history, and the arts, the museum will deepen your grasp of this culturally rich and unique region of France. DÉJEUNER
samedi 19 juillet: Journee libre, ou Cambo-les-Bains et St-Jean-Pied-de-Port [l’esthétique: le patrimoine]
Take the day for yourself or join us for an outing to some of the Basque country’s most famous cultural sites. First stop: the charming house of author Edmond Rostand, of Cyrano de Bergerac renown, in the town of Cambo-les-Bains, renowned for its avant-garde architecture and its jardins à la française, followed by a tour of the luscious Puyodebat chocolate museum (and boutique!) We’ll then spend lunchtime and the afternoon in the beautiful hill town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, not only a stopover for pilgrims on the chemin de St-Jacques but the location of the famous battle at Roncevaux which is so well recounted in the 12th c. Chanson de Roland. MEALS AT LEISURE
dimanche 20 juillet* La politique française actuelle
You’ll have some free time this morning for your leisure activities or you can participate in a delightful cooking class, where you’ll first visit the local marché with the chef and then work in teams to pull the meal together. This afternoon’s seminar will bring us up-to-date on France’s latest political dilemmas and social discontent. Mini-braderies continue. DÉJEUNER LIBRE
lundi 21: Journée libre ou visite des villages basques [l’esthétique: le patrimoine]
Come along as we spend time this morning in the elegant seaside town of Donibane Lohizune, otherwise known as St-Jean-de-Luz, famous for its five sandy beaches and its magnificent little church where Louis XIV married his child bride, the Spanish Infanta, in 1660. Stroll the lively marché, the elegant shops, the beaches where swashbuckling privateers once owned the beautiful homes still standing today. We’ll then motor on to have lunch in the charming hill town of Aïnhoa, one of the plus beaux villages de France, and end the day admiring the red piments on the sides of the buildings in Espelette. DEJEUNER INCLUS
mardi 22 juillet La laïcité et les problématiques de l’éducation nationale, et la braderie d’idées [le pluriculturalisme]
We’ll explore the many dilemmas the French educational system is facing from within, including transgender issues, the wearing of symbolic clothing, the choice of inclusive spelling, etc. This afternoon, we’ll finish up our braderie d’idees, so come prepared to share one of your best classroom ideas and work out a few of our own language errors. Tonight, you’ll spend an optional evening dining with a French family chez eux, a rare treat for foreigners, in which case you’ll be paired off two by two. DÎNER
mercredi 23 juillet*: Journée libre ou Voyage en Espagne [l’esthétique, le patrimoine]
With the Spanish border a mere half hour away, it is impossible to ignore the many delightful sorties one can make to that country. We’ll take the train to Hendaye, the last French town before the border, then hop on the little topo that will take us straight into Spain to the lively town of San Sebastián. Wander the superb half-moon beach, have lunch there and flâner dans la vieille ville, marvel in the leisurely atmosphere that pervades this graceful Belle Epoque town. A couple of glasses of local sangria help you test out your best Spanish phrases. DEJEUNER LIBRE
jeudi 24 juillet L’immigration basque et française [l’esthétique: le patrimoine] France is undergoing several dramatic upheavals on the immigration front, and the pays basque has its own version of this. The questions of immigration and emigration basque will be the focus of our last seminar today. After lunch, you’ll have the afternoon in Biarritz to enjoy the beach or the delightful boutiques, and you’ll be able to return to Bayonne at your leisure. DÉJEUNER LIBRE
vendredi 25 juillet: Journée libre, entièrement [l’esthétique: le patrimoine]
You’ll be free all day today to return to the places you would like to revisit, buy those last-minute items, or just relax in the sunshine of Bayonne. We’ll say goodbye to our seminar leader this evening at our final dinner. DÎNER DE CLÔTURE
samedi 26 juillet
Departure if you must, is always bittersweet, and we encourage you to stay longer in France if you can. There are so many options in the wonderful Basque country on both sides of the border, as its towns are full of history and authenticity, to say nothing of its sheer beauty and natural wonders.
samedi 26 juillet*: One-day extension to Bilbao
If you’re not ready to leave Europe yet, then let the French celebrate quietly their fête nationale while we go off to the Spanish town of Bilbao, home to Frank Gehry’s masterpiece Guggenheim Museum. After visiting the museum, we’ll have lunch and some leisure time in the center of the city. On the way back to Bayonne, we’ll stop off at the little town of Guernica, which was bombed by Hitler in 1937 as a trial run for his new weapons. The bombing caused the deaths of over a thousand innocent Basques who were simply doing their shopping at the weekly marché, and the event not only set off a world uproar, but it incited Pablo Picasso into painting one of his most famous and most provocative paintings ever, Guernica. We’ll visit the little museum dedicated to that day in the town and see a moving replica of Picasso’s painting in the tiles on a village wall. A final goodbye cocktail together at our hotel this evening will signal la vraie fin de notre stage, and perhaps you can glimpse a bit of the feux d’artifice that will be set off in the evening to celebrate la fête nationale. LUNCH
* extra cost
Check out this page about the delights of Bayonne.
Phrases in brackets = Themes relative to the curriculum of advance testing
* = meals at leisure; ♥ = additional cost
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