| CIBOURE seems a continuation of St-Jean but is in fact a separate community, terminating in the little fortress of Socoa, today home to a sailing club. Its streets are even prettier (and emptier) than its neighbour's, especially opposite the end of the bridge from St-Jean, the waterfront quai Maurice-Ravel (the composer was born at no. 12) and the parallel rue Pocolette behind. Wide-fronted, half-timbered, gaily painted and sometimes balconied, the houses epitomize the local Labourdian Basque style. The octagonal tower protruding above the houses belongs to the sixteenth-century church of St-Vincent, where you'll find more characteristic Basque galleries and a Baroque altarpiece; the entrance is in rue Pocolette through a paved courtyard with gravestones embedded in it. From the Pont Charles de Gaulle linking St-Jean and Ciboure, the fish dock sticks out into the harbour, stacked with nets and blackened lobster traps, with grubby blue-painted tuna boats tied up alongside. Upstream, smaller boats lie keeled over on the tidal mudflats of the little River Nivelle against a backdrop of green fields and the emerald flanks of La Rhune (900m); to ascend the peak, catch a bus from the gare SNCF to Col de St-Ignace and Sare (2–3 buses daily). It's also interesting to visit the Château d'Urtubie (guided tours April–Oct 11am & 2–6pm; €5.50) at URRUGNE, just outside Ciboure, 3km southwest of St-Jean-de-Luz, which has belonged to the same family since its construction as a fortified Château in 1341. It was enlarged and gentrified during the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, and provided hospitality for the French King Louis XI, as well as for Soult and later Wellington during the Napoleonic Wars. If you fancy following in their footsteps, it's also a very upmarket chambre d'hôtes (tel 05.59.54.31.15, fax 05.59.54.62.51; €55–70), with a restaurant offering dinner, including wine and a visit of the Château, for €32.
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