Ile de la Conférence (ou Ile des Faisans)

The Conference Island in French or the Pheasant Island in Spanish is a small river island, in the center of the Bidassoa, this river which marks the border between France and Spain. It is therefore part of the commune of Hendaye, on the French side. But it is above all its status and its management that makes it very unusual. Divided in two by the border, it is administered for six months by France, then during the following six months by Spain! Alas, it cannot be visited.

Did you know : It is this very special place that hosted the exchange of French and Spanish princesses in 1615. Elisabeth, the daughter of Henri IV, therefore became Spanish there, while Anne crossed the border there to become the wife of Louis XIII and the future queen of France. This is where the conferences prior to the Treaty of the Pyrenees are mainly held, organizing the marriage of Marie-Thérèse of Austria (Spanish) with Louis XIV, hence its French name.