Every summer, Biarritz rearranges itself around us. Streets that go pedestrian at hours nobody ever remembers, a free shuttle we only find out about in September, a bollard that no longer opens. None of this is for the tourists — it is our everyday life in July and August. Here is the manual, checked at source, for getting through the summer without losing your temper.
The electric shuttle to the Côte des Basques, the best move of the summer
This is the change that genuinely makes life easier. A free electric shuttle links Hélianthe, the Port-Vieux and the Côte des Basques, running every 30 minutes, every day including public holidays, from 11am to 8pm, from 1 July to 31 August.
In practical terms: no more hunting for a space on the boulevard du Prince de Galles. You leave the car, you get on, you get off at the beach. The town even had the roundabout in front of the Carlina reworked so the shuttle could run safely. And it describes the service as the first stage of something more ambitious — worth keeping an eye on.
The local tip: the shuttle connects, at the Port-Vieux and at Hélianthe, with the main public transport lines. From the town centre it is the fastest combination for getting out to surf on an August evening without ever touching a car park.
Pedestrianisation: the hours worth learning once and for all
The scheme runs from 29 June to 30 August 2026, with two zones on two different timetables. This is where everyone gets it wrong.
- Coastal zone (Port des Pêcheurs, Côte des Basques): pedestrian from 11am to 2.30am.
- Town centre zone (Clémenceau, Mazagran, Sainte-Eugénie, Port-Vieux, Gambetta, Halles): pedestrian from 1pm to 2.30am.
The small detail that catches everyone out: the Gambetta / Clemenceau bollard, the one giving access to rue Gambetta and rue Mazagran, stays closed until 5.30am.
During those hours the streets are closed to all motor vehicles — scooters and motorbikes included. Bikes do get through: the area works on the shared-space principle, priority to pedestrians, speed capped at 20 kph, and no riding on the pavements.
Two access points to remember: every pedestrian zone in the town centre is reached via rue de la Poste. And the boulevards de Gaulle and Leclerc, along the seafront, are reserved for users of the Grande Plage and Sainte-Eugénie underground car parks, for residents of the zone, and for people using the Port des Pêcheurs.
Residents: your phone no longer opens the bollards
This is the story of the summer, and it slipped under the radar. Until now, authorised users opened the barriers with a simple phone call, over the 2G network. That network was permanently switched off by the operators on 31 May 2026. Since then, opening by phone call no longer works.
The town’s access provider, Intratone, has rolled out a replacement, Mobipass: an app that opens the barriers from a smartphone. Anyone without a smartphone has to go to the town hall, to the single service desk, for an alternative means of access. Good news for everyone else: remote controls still work and are unaffected by the change.
A useful reminder of who qualifies: residents, people with reduced mobility, medical and paramedical staff, home helps and meal deliverers, taxis and private hire drivers, hotel guests dropping off luggage, and emergency and technical services. Access is capped at two per household. You need to re-register if you have changed phone number or moved within the zone.
Town hall single service desk: 0800 70 60 64.
The Scènes estivales: free music, almost every night
Every week, from 14 July to 22 August, the town puts on free concerts on the south forecourt of the Grande Plage and at the Port des Pêcheurs. Brass bands, pop-rock, soul, Basque music, DJ sets: the programming casts a wide net and admission is free.
Three dates already confirmed: Glorious Basterds (pop-rock) on 6 August at 9pm on the south forecourt, Los Marinos and Gorka Robles on 15 August, and Thao Maho (soul-jazz-funk) on 22 August to close the season.
It is probably the best value in the Biarritz summer. And unlike the seafront terraces in August, there is no need to book three weeks ahead.
Before you get in the water: the Kalilo habit
The Ostreopsis alga is back, as it has been every summer since 2021. Two closures have already happened this season: the Port Vieux beach in Biarritz on 29 June, and Cénitz in Guéthary on 1 July. The readings were 118,000 and 134,500 cells per litre, against an alert threshold set at 100,000 cells per litre.
The symptoms surfers and residents describe are real enough: sore throat, stinging nose, coughing, sometimes a flu-like state. There is no curative treatment to date, and the exact link between the concentration of the alga and the onset of symptoms is still poorly understood — a research programme is under way.
The habit worth picking up: samples are taken several times a week at test beaches and published in real time. You can check them on the Kalilo app or on the Ostreopsis page of the Pays Basque agglomeration. Thirty seconds before loading the board into the car, and you save yourself a ruined session.
Extreme heat: remember the register
The town activates specific measures when temperatures climb, updated regularly on biarritz.fr. The useful step, though, is taken beforehand: signing up to the heatwave register, which allows the CCAS to contact vulnerable people during hot spells. If you have an elderly relative or a neighbour living alone, it takes five minutes online — and it is open all year.
And the fixtures that never change
The Halles remain the fixed point of our summers: covered market every day from 7.30am to 2pm, textile and homeware market outside every day until All Saints’ from 8.30am to 2pm, and the producers’ market on Saturday mornings from 7.30am to 1pm. Still the best moment of the day, before the town fills up.
The fireworks on 15 August over the Grande Plage remain the one night when the whole of Biarritz gathers on the same stretch of sand.
And at the Médiathèque, the exhibition « Biarritz 1945, un campus à l’Américaine » is on in the entrance hall until 31 July: ten days to discover the seven months when 10,400 American soldiers turned the town into a giant campus.
The full listings and practical information are on icibiarritz.com.