Hendaye is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.The town, France's most southwesterly and a popular seaside tourist resort, stands on the right bank of the River Bidassoa – which marks the Franco-Spanish border – at the point where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean in the French Basque Country.Hendaye has three distinguishable parts: la ville, which stretches from Saint Vincent's church to the area around the SNCF railway station and the industrial zone; la plage, the seaside quarter; and les hauteurs, the villas and camping sites on the hills between and behind the other two areas.HistoryHendaye acquired its independence from the Urrugne parish in 1598, when Saint Vincent's church was built. In the Franco-Spanish War, the town was briefly occupied by the Spanish, in September 1636.On the fortified Île des Faisans ("Pheasant Island") in the river, the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659, ending decades of intermittent war between France and Spain. Authority over the Île changes between France and Spain every six months.