Irun is where the coastal Way of St James, the Camino del Norte, crosses from France into Spain, and pilgrims have been walking over the Bidasoa here for centuries. The river is the border, and in the middle of it sits the Isle of Pheasants, a scrap of land that has been governed jointly by both countries since the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, changing hands every six months. It is a peculiar, rather charming thing to stand on the bank and look at.
The town itself is a working place, a frontier of warehouses, railway lines and shopping streets, but the coast it opens onto is spectacular. Hondarribia, a few kilometres north on the river mouth, has a walled old town with balconied houses painted in strong Basque colours and a fishermen's quarter full of bars where pintxos line the counters. Across the water, Hendaye looks back with its long beach and French manners.
For a rider, the reason to start or end a day here is Jaizkibel. The mountain road climbs from Hondarribia along a ridge high above the Atlantic, with the Bay of Biscay dropping away on one side and the green Basque hills on the other, and runs on towards Pasaia and San Sebastián. The corners are open and flowing, the surface usually good, and the views are absurd. It is also a favourite with cyclists, and the ridge catches every gust coming off the sea, so ride it with some respect. Sea fog can roll up suddenly and erase the view entirely.
This coast is green for a reason. Rain arrives often and without much warning, and the roads stay greasy in the shaded sections long after a shower. Summer is busy with traffic heading for the beaches; late spring and September are kinder.
Irun has fuel, food and everything else, and prices on the Spanish side tend to make French riders smile. Eat in Hondarribia if you can: grilled fish, txakoli poured from a height, and a slice of Basque cheesecake if the place you sit in makes it. Then follow the pilgrims west, though at a rather higher speed than theirs, along a coast that will keep you busy all the way to Galicia.