In the town of Biarritz, lies along the Bay of Biscay, France

 “I can't stand it to think my life is going so fast and I'm not really living it.”

― Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
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(in France) The Bay of Biscay, known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay, and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony, is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal. The south area of the Bay of Biscay that washes over the northern coast of Spain is known locally as the Cantabrian Sea.

+ The Bay of Biscay is a wide inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean indenting the coast of western Europe. Forming a roughly triangular body with an area of about 86,000 square miles (223,000 square km), it is bounded on the east by the west coast of France and on the south by the north coast of Spain. Its maximum depth, a little south of its center, is 15,525 feet (4,735 meters). The principal rivers flowing into the bay are the Loire, the Adour, and the Dordogne and Garonne, which form the Gironde Estuary.

+ The surface currents of the Bay of Biscay are influenced by the clockwise circulation in the North Atlantic that produces a clockwise circulation in the bay. The range of mean spring tides is about 20 feet (6 meters) on the French coast at the northern end of the bay near Ouessant Island, decreasing southward to about 3.5 meters in the southeastern angle near Biarritz. The Bay of Biscay is noted among sailors for its rough seas. Gales can be severe and may exceed 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour. Squalls are also a hazard to navigation and may occur at any time of the year. The climate on shore is maritime, with mild winters and cool summers.

+ The main ports along the Bay of Biscay are Brest, Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, and Bayonne in France, and Bilbao, Santander, Gijón, and Avilés in Spain. Resorts include La Baule, Biarritz, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, all along the French coast. Fishing is a principal industry. Oyster culture is practiced in shallow lagoons and estuaries along the French coast.

+ A renowned summer getaway for royals and celebrities alike (you might remember it from Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises), the beaches of Biarritz, in Basque country along the Bay of Biscay, are not only gorgeous -- they are also hugely popular with surfers thanks to their mellow, safe-for-beginners waves.

+ The town of Biarritz (pictured here) lies along the Bay of Biscay, adjacent to Bayonne and Anglet -- just 11 miles (18 km) from the Spanish border. Half ritzy coastal resort, half summer surfers' hang-out, the resort of Biarritz has been a favorite beach getaway since Napoléon III and his Spanish-born wife Eugénie arrived during the mid-19th century. Its elegant villas and heritage-listed residences have retained their glamor. Biarritz, which remains one of the southwest's seaside gems, still throngs with visitors every Summer.