Bayonne

At the confluence of the Adour and Nive rivers, Bayonne, France's most indelibly Basque city, was in the fourth century a Roman fort, or castrum, and for 300 years (1151-1451) a British colony. The city gave its name to the bayonet blade (from the French baïonnette), invented here in the 17th century, but today's Bayonne is more famous for its ham (jambon de Bayonne) and for the annual Basque pelota world championships held in September.