Edwardian Biarritz at the height of its fashionable moment — the Grande Plage promenade alive with elegantly dressed strollers, rows of striped bathing tents lined up on the sand, the grand Hôtel du Palais looming on the headland, and a mineral water kiosk advertising Évian and Dax in the foreground. Once a quiet Basque fishing village, Biarritz was transformed into Europe's most glamorous resort after Empress Eugénie built her summer villa there in 1854; by the Edwardian era it drew royalty, aristocrats, and the haute bourgeoisie from across the continent. Photographer Marcel Delboy's Bordeaux studio produced some of the finest phototypie cards of the French Atlantic coast, and this is one of his best — the lighthouse of the Pointe Saint-Martin just visible in the distance, the whole scene crackling with belle époque energy.

• Caption: "BIARRITZ — La Promenade de la grande Plage"
• Card no.: 123
• Publisher: Phototypie Marcel Delboy, Bordeaux
• Status: Unposted