In the heights of Biarritz nestles a lovely little village called Arcangues. It's an absolutely charming place, with its picturesque central square nestled between the town hall with its blue shutters, the adorable school, typical inn, Basque pelota court and 16th-century church with wooden galleries.
Behind the Church of St John the Baptist, be sure to go and admire the beautiful terraced cemetery dotted with old disk-shaped steles, with a beautiful view of the Pyrenees! Here, in this haven of peace, lies the tomb of the famous operetta singer Luis Mariano.
The name of the small village of Arcangues, located a few kilometers from Biarritz, is known all over the world. Each year, visitors stop and linger. Yet it is during this century that this little village has become what it is today. It is indeed, under the impulse of the family of Arcangues, and of the poet and novelist of talent that was Marquis Pierre of Arcangues that this pleasant and picturesque village turned into one of the high tourist places of the Basque Coast. Designed and staged by the Marquis, throughout his life, this elegant and unusual ensemble is entirely reconstituted with old materials. In the "theater of nature", behind the school, it is the painter Ramiro Arrue who put down his key and realized the fresco that adorn it. Luis Mariano (1914-1970) moved to Arcangues in 1961 and was one of the most illustrious citizens of the commune. While visiting the cemetery, the amateur will retain the beautiful and complete collection of discoidal steles that are represented there. These gravestones take up many traditional symbols (crosses, solar patterns, vegetation...) in the Basque Country and constitute, by themselves, a precious testimony of its history. At the foot of this cemetery really unlike the others, stretches a magnificent panorama and it is in good weather that you will have the leisure to detail the different parts of the Basque Pyrenees.
