Urepel, France
Basque in the sun
Bridging two cultures while remaining steadfastly unique, the Basque Country sits on the border between France and Spain, largely nestled in the western Pyrenees. Set your translator app to French or Spanish here and you'll get along just fine, but if you really want to endear yourself to locals, learn a little Basque vocab. Unrelated to the Romance languages of the nations that govern this region, Basque is Europe's only true language isolate, with no known cousins in the linguistic world. Will your pintxos with a side of piperade washed down with txakoli taste even better if you order in Basque? Can't hurt to try.
Basque in the sun
Bridging two cultures while remaining steadfastly unique, the Basque Country sits on the border between France and Spain, largely nestled in the western Pyrenees. Set your translator app to French or Spanish here and you'll get along just fine, but if you really want to endear yourself to locals, learn a little Basque vocab. Unrelated to the Romance languages of the nations that govern this region, Basque is Europe's only true language isolate, with no known cousins in the linguistic world. Will your pintxos with a side of piperade washed down with txakoli taste even better if you order in Basque? Can't hurt to try.
© Tuul & Bruno Morandi / Digital Vision / Getty Images 2026-09-11 08:45:52 :