Bayonne Basque Museum

Our opinion

In the heart of Bayonne, in a 16th century bourgeois residence, the museum produces the most important ethnographic collection dedicated to the Basque Country. The objects and works of art on display testify to the identity and functioning of Basque society, its history and its traditions. The museum also tells the story of Bayonne, at the confluence of Basque, Gascon and Jewish cultures.

Details of the activity

Welcome to this Museum of France which brings together the richest collection devoted to life in society in the Northern Basque Country (Iparralde). The Maison Dagourette, a rare and beautiful port residence from the 17th century, now listed as a Historic Monument, has housed the Basque Museum since its opening in 1924. Thanks to a major renovation in 2001, vast and bright contemporary spaces have been in the old building, offering comfort and fluidity to the tour. Around a large well of light (Argialde), twenty thematic rooms are articulated on three levels revealing the multiple aspects of Basque culture: origins and language, funeral rites, rural life and architecture, domestic life and crafts, activities sea and river, festivals and games, regional history. The section dedicated to the history of Bayonne evokes the Basque and Gascon societies at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers and the opening to the ocean. Each year, a temporary exhibition highlights a theme, an artist, an aspect of art and society in the Basque Country. A stone's throw from the museum, on the heights of Place Paul-Bert, the north wing of Château-Neuf, (a listed 15th century fortress), houses the Library - Museum Documentation Center, one of the most rich in the Basque domain with its 30,000 old and contemporary documents, manuscripts, books, newspapers, magazines… RESERVATION REQUIRED

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