Château d'Abbadia

Château d’Abbadia is a 19th-century house and small castle near Hendaye on the French Basque coast, built for the explorer and scholar Antoine d’Abbadie and notable for its hybrid neo-Gothic and Moorish-inspired architecture.

Commissioned and occupied by Antoine d’Abbadie in the second half of the 19th century, the estate was both a family residence and a working observatory; the building and many of its contents reflect Abbadie’s interests in exploration, astronomy and Basque culture.

The château sits on a hill above Hendaye in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, overlooking the Bidasoa valley and the Atlantic coast close to the Spanish border.

• 19th-century building: Built in the second half of the 19th century for explorer and scholar Antoine d'Abbadie, the château combines neo-Gothic and Moorish-inspired decoration and is open for guided visits.
• Coastal hilltop site: Perched near Hendaye on the Basque coast, the site overlooks the Bidasoa valley and is close to the Spanish border and the Atlantic shoreline.

What to See #

• Observatory: A 19th-century observatory established by the château's owner for meteorological and astronomical observations, containing original instruments and an observing room.
• Chapel and reception rooms: A small chapel and a series of reception rooms decorated in 19th-century eclectic styles that reflect the owner's interests in travel, science and Basque culture.