Cambo-les-Bains

Visit Cambo-les-Bains, Aquitaine

Cambo les Bains, just 15 minutes drive from Bayonne is in the Labourd region of the French Basque Country. It is a spa town and was once a centre for the treatment of tuberculosis.

Explore Cambo-les-Bains

An attractive town, the newer, upper part of Cambo-les-Bains is full of hotels, bars and restaurants and looks down over the River Nive and the old town below. The old town is in typical Basque style with white buildings and red or green shutters, usually red as seems to be the case in most of the villages in this area.  The town has lots of open spaces and is proud of its gardening traditions.

Take a look at the Thermes at Cambo, an attractive Art Deco building where you can wander around the exuberantly planted garden even if you are not taking a treatment. The gardens are lovely and filled with lots of palms and flowers.

Villa Arnaga

The main sight to see on a trip to Cambo les Bains is the Villa Arnaga. Edmond Rostand, author of Cyrano de Bergerac, came to Cambo les Bains to recover from his pulmonary disease. He was so impressed with the area that he had a villa built here. The villa is very large and in a Basque style and lots of large windows make the inside very light. Many of the rooms have lovely wood panelling and most have some part of the walls or panels painted by artists of the era commissioned by Rostand.

There are also lots of photographs and information about the various theatre and cinema productions of Cyrano de Bergerac.

Perhaps the best part of the visit to the villa is the garden. You enter near the stables and walk up to the villa through the magnificent French-style gardens, in a typically very formal layout with pools of water, gravel paths, shaped parterres and lots flowers. The best part is near the stables where an Italianate columned structure, fronted by lots of superb hydrangeas, overlooks a large pool and fountain.

Attractions nearby

To the west of Cambo-les-Bains you can visit the popular resort towns at Bayonne, Biarritz and Saint Jean de Luz on the coast, while several picturesque basque villages such as Espelette and Itxassou are also nearby.

See Aquitaine and Pyrenees-Atlantiques (the region and department for Cambo-les-Bains) for more travel ideas...

Photos of Cambo-les-Bains

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Suggested places to visit near Cambo-les-Bains, France

Distances shown are direct, driving distances will be greater.

More suggestions: Sare 15km; Bayonne 16km; Anglet 17km; Biarritz 19km; La Rhune 20km; Saint Jean de Luz 21km; Ciboure 22km; Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 25km; Hendaye 30km; Hondarribia 32km; Capbreton 32km;

Cambo-les-Bains tourist information: sights and attractions nearby

Jardins de la villa Arnaga - remarkable garden (0km) : Marais d'Orx - site of natural beauty (27km) : Vallée des Aldudes - site of natural beauty (28km) : Parc du Sarrat - remarkable garden (48km) :

See more places and a map at places near Cambo-les-Bains