Final-year school trip to the Basque Country: Biarritz, Bayonne, San Sebastián, Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum, La Rhune and Saint-Jean-de-Luz (8 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and overnight stop in the Loire Valley

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive to south-west France via Paris.
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Lunch at your own expense on the way.
• Arrival in the late afternoon at the accommodation for the overnight stop near Tours (about 550 to 650 km, 6.5 to 7.5 hours excluding breaks); dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 2: Drive to Biarritz

• Departure after breakfast and drive via Poitiers and Bordeaux to the Basque coast (about 540 km, 6.5 hours excluding breaks).
• Lunch at your own expense on the way.
• Arrival in Biarritz in the afternoon: the Grande Plage, the fishermen’s harbour and the footbridge to the Rocher de la Vierge.
• Check-in at the accommodation in Biarritz, Anglet, Bidart or the surrounding area for five nights, dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 3: Surfing in Anglet and Bayonne

• 2-hour introduction to surfing with a surf school on a beach in Anglet, boards and wetsuits provided (on request).
• Or visit to the Biarritz Aquarium, devoted to the Atlantic, for pupils who do not surf (on request).
• Lunch at your own expense, then drive to Bayonne (about 20 min).
• Sainte-Marie Cathedral, the quays of the Nive and the half-timbered houses of Petit Bayonne, and supervised free time.
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: San Sebastián, pearl of the Bay of Biscay

• Drive to San Sebastián, in Spain (about 50 km, 50 min).
• Walk along La Concha bay and climb on foot up Monte Urgull for the view over the city.
• Lunch at your own expense on pintxos in the Parte Vieja, around Plaza de la Constitución.
• Ride up Monte Igueldo on its century-old funicular (on request), then supervised free time on La Concha beach.
• Back to the French Basque coast, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum

• Drive to Bilbao (about 150 km, 1 hr 45 min).
• Visit to the Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry’s titanium masterpiece, and its contemporary art collections (on request).
• Around the museum, free of charge: Jeff Koons’s flower dog Puppy and Louise Bourgeois’s giant spider Maman.
• Lunch at your own expense, a walk through the Casco Viejo and its “Seven Streets”, then funicular ride up Mount Artxanda (on request).
• Back for dinner and supervised evening.

Day 6: La Rhune and Saint-Jean-de-Luz

• Drive to the Col de Saint-Ignace (about 30 min) and ride up La Rhune (905 m) on the little cog railway, with views over the ocean and the Pyrenees (on request).
• On to Saint-Jean-de-Luz (about 20 min) and lunch at your own expense.
• The fishing harbour, the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, where Louis XIV married in 1660, and Rue Gambetta.
• Supervised free time on the beach of the bay.
• Dinner and last evening in the Basque Country.

Day 7: Bordeaux and overnight stop in the Loire Valley

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and departure around 8 am.
• Drive to Bordeaux (about 190 km, 2 hrs 15 min), stop for lunch at your own expense and a walk on Place de la Bourse and by the water mirror.
• On to the overnight stop near Tours (about 350 km, 4 hours excluding breaks).
• Dinner and a quiet evening at the accommodation.

Day 8: Return to your school

• Departure after breakfast and daytime drive back to Belgium (about 550 to 650 km depending on your school).
• Regular breaks on the way.
• Lunch at your own expense on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the late afternoon or evening.