The wealth and vigour of St-Jean's seafaring past is evident in the town, most notably in the surviving seventeenth- and eighteenth-century houses of the merchants and shipowners. One of the finest, adjacent to the Hôtel de Ville on the plane-tree-studded place Louis XIV, is the turreted Maison Louis XIV (guided tours: July & Aug Mon-Sat 10.30am- noon & 2.30-6.30pm; rest of year Mon-Sat 10.30am-noon & 2.30-5.30pm; 30F/?4.60), built for the shipowning Lohobiague family in 1643, but taking its name from the fact that the young King Louis stayed here for a month in 1660 during the preparations for his marriage to Maria Teresa, Infanta of Castile. She lodged in the equally impressive pink Italianate villa known as the Maison de l'Infante (June-Sept Mon & Sun 2.30-6.30pm, Tues-Sat 11am-12.30pm & 2.30-6.30pm; 15F/?2.30), overlooking the harbour on the quay of the same name. It also houses the Musée Grévin waxworks museum (daily: April-Oct 10am-noon & 2-6.30/8pm; rest of year 2-6pm; 37F/?5.65). The corner house on rue Mazarin, nearby, was the Duke of Wellington's HQ during the 1813-14 winter campaign against Marshal Soult.

In the school-book history of St-Jean-de-Luz, the wedding of King Louis and Maria Teresa was a major event. The couple were married in the church of St-Jean-Baptiste on pedestrianized rue Gambetta , the main shopping street today, though the door through which they left the church has been walled up ever since. The extravagance of the event defies belief. Cardinal Mazarin alone presented the queen with twelve thousand pounds of pearls and diamonds, a gold dinner service and a pair of sumptuous carriages drawn by teams of six horses - all paid for by money made in the service of France. Plain and fortress-like on the outside, this is the largest French Basque church inside, with a barn-like nave roofed in wood and lined on three sides with tiers of dark oak galleries. These are a distinctive feature of Basque churches, and were reserved for the men, while the women sat at ground level in the nave. Equally Basque is the elaborate gilded retable of tiered angels, saints and prophets behind the altar. The walled-up door through which Louis and his bride passed is on the right of the main entrance. Hanging from the ceiling is an ex voto model of the Empress Eugénie's paddle-steamer, the Eagle , which narrowly escaped being wrecked on the rocks outside St-Jean in 1867.

St. Jean de Luz was primarily a fishing village in the 1950's. The nearly oval harbor is protected by three breakwaters which were constructed in the 1860s at the direction of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. In the middle of town is the Basque church St. Jean Baptist, built over a period of 200 years, from the 15th to the 17th century. In this church, June of 1660, the longest reigning king in French history (72 years) Louis XIV, married the Infanta of Spain, Maria Theresa.

St. Jean de Luz has become one of the premier vacation destinations in France. Located in the french Basque region of Aquitaine, the city still maintains its fine port, still fishes, but now multitudes of people from all over the world travel here for their vacation rentals to enjoy the terrific weather, beaches, restaurants, and our very special Rue Gambetta, walking only, no cars allowed.

St. Jean de Luz is also in a primary location for visiting many other surrounding areas: the Pyrennees (20 km), St. Sebastian in Spain (35 km), Biarritz (10 km), Bayonne (18 km), La Rhune (9 km), Ascain (5 km), Sare (20 km), etc. We are in the SW of France, 20 km North of Spain, and on the Atlantic. Our skyline in the East and South is the Pyrennees and on the West the ocean. Many people also come here to visit our Centre Helianthal, 500m from our chambre d'hote. These are some of the reasons we established our Chambre d'Hote in the village of Saint Jean de Luz.