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Ainhoa

Location of Ainhoa

Ainhoa ('most beautiful villages of France') is deep in Basque country on the Spanish border, 20km south-east of St Jean de Luz.

Visit Ainhoa, France

Ainhoa, like Sare, is a lovely Basque village, in the Labourd province, with loads of charm and examples of the local architecture. Little more than a main street and a large church, but perfectly charming and in a lovely setting in the shadow of the Rhune.

Perhaps the most curious feature of Ainhoa is that the buildings on one side of the street appear to be more decorative, and have more balconies, than those on the other side of the street. In fact this is because local tradition is to build houses with their backs to the sea, for protection against the wind and rain. So on one side of Ainhoa main street you are seeing the backs of the houses. Personally I found the slightly more austere backs as attractive as the more decorative fronts.

Ainhoa was an important stop on the pilgrim path to Santiago de Compostella, where many of the routes from France converged. The original village was destroyed by the Spanish in 1629 and the village you now see was built in the 17/18th centuries.

Interesting to see, Ainhoa church features the usual 'rows of balconies' found in Basque churches. And of course, being a Basque village, it has a "fronton" wall where old and young play Pelota, the local sport.

The village also contains a couple of expensive 'art' shops (we found the village to be expensive, for things like postcards, even compared with nearby Sare) and cafes.

It is the starting point for several walks in the region.

Places to visit near Ainhoa

The neighbouring village of Sare, also a 'most beautiful villages of France' is also very pretty and well worth a visit.

Visit Ainhoa (Aquitaine, Pyrenees-Atlantiques) travel, gites and hotels

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Tourist Classifications for Ainhoa

- Most beautiful villages in France

Places to visit near Ainhoa, France

Explore places of interest within about 70 kilometres on a map at places near Ainhoa.

Some places to visit within 30 km: 20 km: Anglet (town) 21 km: Bayonne (Important town) 20 km: Biarritz (Atlantic resort and surf capital) 18 km: Biarritz airport (airport) 12 km: Cambo-les-Bains (attractive town and gardens) 21 km: Ciboure (Atlantic town and resort) 7 km: Espelette (chilli village) 11 km: Itxassou (pretty village) 30 km: La Bastide-Clairence (Most beautiful village) 15 km: La Rhune (Basque mountain) 20 km: Saint Jean de Luz (Coastal town and resort) 9 km: Sare (Most beautiful village)

See also Ainhoa (version Francais)