Each part of France has its own charm. The countryside of the North is characterised by rolling hills and wide valleys that turn into rocky outlets and coves along the coastlines of Normandy and Brittany. At its most westerly point the Channel changes to the Atlantic Ocean and gradually the coast takes on a different character. Each year the wide beaches of the Vendee attract many tourists to them and this coastline stretches for hundreds of kilometres down towards the Spanish border and the city of Biarritz. The border between Spain and France is dominated by the rugged mountains of the Pyrenees, which run from the temperate climate of the Bay of Biscay down to the sub-tropical Mediterranean coast. To the west lies the Basque country and to the east the country of the Catharen. The Alps have an all-together different character and the villages, roads, climate and even the inhabitants are different. One cyclist may succeed in the Alps and another do well in the Pyrenees but neither can explain why.