The Musee Bonnat was built in 1897 to house the artwork and collection of Bayonne artist Léon Bonnat (1833-1922) who made a fortune painting portraits of the upper classes of his day. The thematically arranged collection (13C-19C) blends different sc..

The museum (Musee basque et de l’histoire de Bayonne) is located in the Maison Dagourette, a 17C townhouse which is also a historic monument. The up-to-the-minute displays highlight its rich ethnographic collections devoted to Basque culture and life..

The cathedral (Cathédrale Ste-Marie) was built from the 13C to the 16C in the Northern style. Don’t miss the Renaissance stained-glass windows in the nave, the choir and the triforium.

With its twin bays, this cloister (Cloître de la cathédrale Ste-Marie) is a striking 14C Gothic ensemble. There is a fine view of the cathedral and its decorated windows from the south gallery.

The chocolatier Andrieu created a didactic course going from the geographical and historical origins chocolate, through all the stages of fabrication to the finished product: composition, coating, moulding, tempering, decorating and packaging. The pl..

This square next to Pont Mayou, a bridge spanning the Nive, contains the town hall and theatre and marks the entrance to the old town. The city’s coat of arms and proud motto, ‘‘never sullied’’, are written on the ground.

The arcades on this pleasant pedestrian street are full of pastry and sweet shops that have a lovely smell of chocolate, an old tradition brought to Bayonne in the 17C by exiled Jews from Spain and Portugal.

This Japanese-inspired garden (Jardin botanique) overlooking the ramparts features a thousand varieties of perennials.

Unfaithful wives were once thrown into the river in iron cages from this bridge (Pont Pannecau). Luckily this custom is long past, and now you can simply stroll across it. Don’t miss the half-timbered ‘‘Basque red’’ house at the end of Rue Poissonner..

‘‘Grand Bayonne’’ is the town’s commercial area, whereas ‘‘Petit Bayonne’’ across the Nive river has preserved its working-class atmosphere and narrow streets lined with tall houses. The area is quite lively in the evening when its many bars and bod..