Labourd
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Labourd (Lapurdi in Basque; from Latin Lapurdum) is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country.
Labourd extends from the Pyreenees to the river Adour, along the Atlantic coast. To the south is Gipuzkoa and Navarre in modern Spain, to the east is Basse-Navarre. It has an area of almost 900 km² and a population of over 200,000, the most populous of the three French Basque provinces. Over 25% of the inhabitants speak Basque.
The main town of Labourd is Bayonne, although the capital, where local Basque leaders assembled, is Ustaritz, 13 km away. Other important towns are Biarritz, Hendaye, Hasparren, Ciboure and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The area is famous for the five-day Fêtes of Bayonne and the red peppers of Espelette. Many tourists come to the coast, especially at Biarritz, and the hills and mountains of the interior for walking and agri-tourism. La Rhune (Larrun in Basque), a 900m high hill, lies south of Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the border with Spain. The hill is a Basque symbol, with spectacular views from its peak.
The traditional buildings of Labourd have a low roof, half-timbered features, stone lintels and painted in red, white and green. The house of Edmond Rostand, Villa Arnaga at Cambo-les-Bains, is such a house and is now a museum dedicated to the author of Cyrano de Bergerac and to Basque traditions.