We drove into Biarritz on Monday, September 14, and left on Friday the 18th for the train back to Paris. Like Cap Ferret before it, this leg was built around the accommodation, not an itinerary — a villa with a guest house and a heated pool, confirmed dog-friendly, with only three food-and-activity bookings across four days.
That’s not a complaint. By the second week of a sabbatical, you learn that “villa with a heated pool, dog allowed” is basically a full plan.
The villa (September 14–18)
The booking was listed as a villa with a maison d’amis (guest house) and a heated pool, booked on Airbnb for four nights. Sally-approved, which at this point in the trip was non-negotiable — she’d traveled with us through every leg and needed her own space to flop after a travel day as much as we did.
The short version of the days
Monday 9/14: Travel day from Cap Ferret. Settle in, explore the villa, let Sally claim a sunny spot.
Tuesday 9/15: Surf was on the morning’s plan — this is Biarritz, after all, and the town basically requires it. Evening: dinner at Enfants du Marché, booked for 8:00 PM.
Wednesday 9/16 and Thursday 9/17: A 1:00 PM lunch at Extebarri was requested for these days — Extebarri is one of the most famous grill restaurants in the Basque Country, so it went straight to the top of the Biarritz shortlist. Jake was on work calls a few of these afternoons, which is the other honest truth of a sabbatical with a spouse who isn’t fully off the grid: the trip was built around his work blocks, and Biarritz’s afternoons absorbed a couple of them.
Friday 9/18: Train to Paris. Jake was working on the train; Sally’s long travel day toward the end of the trip.
Where I stayed
Airbnb villa + maison d’amis with heated pool — four nights (September 14–18), confirmed dog-friendly, minutes from the beaches.
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