Hendaya
Year: 2026
Population: 18000+
Hendaye, in Basque Hendaia, meaning large bay, is a border town belonging to France (Iparralde) and the French-Basque Country. Its border changes distance every six months, sometimes moving closer to Irun and sometimes further away, as I will explain later. It has two official languages: Basque (Euskara) and French (France).
Its boundaries are Irún, which we just mentioned, and Hondarribia, together with Hendaye, which form the Txingudi Bay; other boundaries are Urruña and the Cantabrian Sea.
Hendaye has witnessed several wars between France and Spain, which ended with the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 on Pheasant Island in the Bidasoa River. This island is the smallest condominium territory in the world. From February to July, the municipality of Irún manages the island; for the remaining six months, it is under French control. This explains the fluid nature of its border with Irún.
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| The island of the pheasants. | Monolith in memory of the Treaty (of peace) of the Pyrenees. |
Our route begins at the International Bridge on the border with Irún. We walk towards the town center. A few meters from the start, we find the international train station. Hendaye has two train stations. Public transport options include buses, taxis, the metro, ferries, and trains. It is also worth noting that San Sebastián Airport, located in Hondarribia, is approximately 5.4 km away.
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| Renfe international bridge. | International train station. |
We go into the center and can observe the following figures.
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| Mural at the International Train Station. | Hendaye City Council. |
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| San Vicente church. | Inside the Church of San Vicente. | Cyclic Cross. |
It should be mentioned that the cyclical cross hides an apocalyptic message, the end of the world in 2012.
In this city, battles and wars have been very present; to this day, it still maintains cannons facing the neighboring municipality, although these cannons are now unusable.
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| Cannons. | In memory of the fallen. |
Among its leisure activities, as is typical of Basque villages, there is a fronton for playing Basque pelota, among other sports. Other sports include rugby, surfing, football, basketball, cycling, tennis, skating... there is even a pétanque club. But after all that sport, if you need a break, going to the theater is a great option.
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| Varietes theater. | |
We continue our journey leaving the center behind, passing along a path called bidegorri, which has a separation for pedestrians from cyclists, and we arrive at the marina.
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| Hendaye Marina. | Hendaye Marina. |
From here, we will head to the beach, where we will see the old casino in the center. The beach stretches for 3.5 km of fine, white sand. We will dip our toes in the water for a break before continuing our route towards Abbadie Castle.
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| Old casino of Hendaye. | Santa Ana church. |
On our way to Abbadie Castle, we came across a rather unusual roundabout, as it houses a small church, the Church of Saint Anne. And after walking uphill, we arrived at a magnificent castle.
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| Abbadie Castle front. | Abbadie Castle rear. |
To finish, what better than a toast on the beach? "This one is for Hendaye!" Cheers!
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| A toast on the beach. | Coat of arms of Hendaye. |