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Places worth going
All places →Le Train de La RhuneDon't missJourneysAbsolutely recommend taking the little wooden rack train up La Rhune, a unique experience not far from the Spanish border. It's been running since the 1920s and grinds up at walking pace for about half an hour, with ponies and sheep wandering across the track. The ride is spectacular and the view from the top is gorgeous: the whole Basque coast laid out below you, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Biarritz and the beaches running north into the haze. Go for the view, and stay for it. Take water and snacks: the café at the top won't refill your bottle and it's pricey.Saint-Jean-de-LuzDon't missTownsA working fishing port with one of the best sheltered beaches on this coast inside its sea walls, and a town behind it that still looks Basque rather than built for tourists: red-shuttered hotels, timber balconies, and the church where Louis XIV was married a street back from the front. Come down off La Rhune in the afternoon, walk the Grande Plage at low tide, and eat on the harbour.Fort de SocoaWorth a stopLandmarksThe old fort sits out on its own breakwater at the western end of the bay, with a small curve of sand beside it and La Rhune standing up behind the town. Ten minutes on the way is all it needs: walk out along the wall, look back at Saint-Jean-de-Luz across the water, and carry on.