Facing the ocean, in the town of Hendaye, on a promontory of the Basque Corniche, stands the Observatory Castle of Abbadia, a richly decorated Neo-Gothic mansion built in the 19th century by the famous architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Its former owner, the famous Basque-Irish scientist and explorer Antoine d'Abbadie, set up an astronomical observatory there with a unique meridian telescope dating from 1880!
Open to visitors, the Abbadia site not only allows the public to explore the restored and furnished rooms of the castle, it also provides a pleasant walk in the beautiful English-style park, which is full of beautiful exotic plants.
