Lekeitio a perfect place for Queens, Empresses and Archdukes

The neighbouring towns of Donostia-San Sebastián and Biarritz are famous, but a century ago Lekeitio was also a meeting place for the European nobility.

So much so that Otto of Habsburg-Lorraine (known as Otto I of Austria, Otto I of Bohemia, Otto II of Hungary and Otto II of Croatia) even learned a little Basque as a child. He returned in the 20th century to spend part of his honeymoon in Lekeitio after his marriage to Regina of Saxony-Meiningen in 1951. He returned again in 2004, a few years before his death. The Archduke (1913-2011) was the eldest son of Charles I of Austria and IV of Hungary, the last emperor, and headed the House of Habsburg for 85 years.

Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma, together with Otto and her seven brothers and sisters, as well as Archduchess Maria Theresa. Lived in Lekeitio between 1922 and 1931. They lived in the palace facing the sea, which is now a hotel. This same palace hosted Queen Isabel II of Bourbon and part of her court for several summers. It was from Lekeitio

that the royal family, with the future Alfonso XII, headed for Biarritz.

Lekeitio is currently one of the great attractions of the coast of Bizkaia.

Its ancient urban layout with noble escutcheons, mansions and tower houses, the bay adorned by an island that can be reached on foot at low tide, the impressive Gothic church that stands over the port, the paths through the hills that lead to the lighthouse of Santa Catalina or the old windmill that has now been transformed into an agritourism centre, all add to its rich cultural and social life, a wide range of activities of all kinds, the typical gastronomy and its privileged surroundings.

Concerts, local sports, festivals, guided routes and unique popular festivals fill the calendar of the lekeitiarrak (Lekeitio locals).

Get informed before your visit and take the opportunity to feel like an archduchess of the 21st century.