Biarritz has had a long made its fortune from the sea: originally a whaling village, in the 18th century doctors recommended that the ocean at Biarritz had therapeutic properties, inspiring patients to make a pilgrimage to the beach for cure for their ailments. Biarritz's fame arose in 1854 when Empress Eugenie (the wife of Napoleon III ) built a Palace on the beach (now the Hotel du Palais ). The British royal family regularly took vacations in Biarritz: European royalty such as Queen Victoria , Edward VII , and Alfonso XIII of Spain were frequent visitors.