Marbella.

Marbella sits at the southern tip of the long Côte des Basques beach in Biarritz, where a series of rocky fingers extend from the headland and interrupt the sandy bottom. These reef structures pin sand in place and generate steep, bowly wedges when the swell hits from a westerly to northerly direction at low to mid tide. The wave character is a product of competing influences — boily, well-covered sections can produce satisfying peaks, but the bottom is uneven enough to keep any given section working for only a limited window. Waves are medium-paced and range from slopey walls to punchy little peaks depending on the sandbar configuration around the rocks. Marbella sits in the shadow of one of France's most storied surf coastlines, just downbeach from Côte des Basques where French surfing first took root in the 1950s and 60s. A southeasterly wind is the ideal companion, keeping faces clean while the W-NW swell delivers the energy. The spot struggles badly in onshore conditions and gets overwhelmed by larger swells faster than most breaks in the area, quickly becoming disorganised. Entry is straightforward from the beach, but the labyrinth of rocks requires attention to the tide — what looks like a clear route back to the access path at low water can disappear as the tide fills in, leaving surfers stranded without a safe exit. Nearby alternatives include Côte des Basques to the north for mellower longboard conditions and Milady to the south for similar reef-and-sand character.

Steep wedges pinned by rocky fingers where Côte des Basques' sand gets interrupted.