Bayonne

Bayonne is located at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the northern part of the cultural region of the Basque Country. It is the seat of the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque which roughly encompasses the western half of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, including the coastal city of Biarritz. The area also constitutes the southern part of Gascony, where the Aquitaine Basin joins the beginning of the Pre-Pyrenees.

Together with nearby Anglet, Biarritz, Hendaye and 24 smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with 259,017 inhabitants as of 2022, 53,312 of whom lived in the commune of Bayonne proper. It is also a part of Basque Eurocity Bayonne-San Sebastián.

The site on the left bank of the Nive and the Adour was probably occupied before ancient times; a fortified enclosure was attested to in the 1st century, while the Tarbelli occupied the territory. Archaeological studies have confirmed the presence of a Roman castrum in the 4th and 5th centuries.

In 1023, Bayonne was the capital of Labourd. In the 12th century, it extended to the confluence of the Nive River and beyond.