with balconies overlooking the Nive. Many of the buildings are very old, built of pink and grey schist, and retain distinctive features, including inscriptions over their doors. One, a bakery, lists the price of wheat in 1789. The 14th-century red schist Gothic church, Notre-Dame-du-Bout-du-Pont, stands by the Porte d'Espagne. The original was built by Sancho the Strong of Navarre to commemorate the 1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa where Moorish dominance of Spain was undermined. Above the town at the top of the hill is the citadel, remodelled by Vauban in the 17th century. Outside the walls is a new town, with the Hôtel de Ville and a pelota fronton. Economy Traditional crafts and foods remain in the town, including Basque linen from the Inchauspé family since 1848. The town is now an important tourist centre for the Pyrenees and the French Basque country and there are shops, restaurants and hotels. St-Jean-Pied-de-Port specializes in goat cheese, like the Ossau-Iraty AOP cheese, artisanal trout breeding and piperade omelette with peppers and Bayonne ham. Mondays see a large market, with sheep and cattle driven into the town. At 5pm, there is a communal game of bare-handed pelote at the fronton. There are large fairs four times a year. Transportation Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port station is the southern terminus of the railway line from Bayonne through the French Basque Country, along the valley of the river Nive, with several services each day. It is 1 km from the centre of the town. Biarritz Airport is the closest airport to Saint Jean Pied de Port. Notable people Bernard Etxepare (late 15th - mid 16th century), writer of first printed book in Basque. Juan Huarte de San Juan (c. 1530-1592), physician and psychologist was born there. Charles Floquet (1828–1896), born in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, French lawyer and statesman. Imanol Harinordoquy (born 1980), French international rugby union player, grew up in the town. See also Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department References External links Tourist office website Tourist office website Saint Jean Pied de Port Secret World Webpage about the fortifications Tourism in basque country Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Lower Navarre World Heritage Sites in France Pyrénées-Atlantiques communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Vauban fortifications in France