Arcachon, Bordeaux

About Arcachon

As late as the mid-19th century, Arcachon was pine forest with fewer than 400 fishermen and farmers. In 1857 Emperor Napoleon III made it a commune, and the railway from Bordeaux arrived the same year. Wealthy Bordelais came for sea bathing, and the mild climate, softened by the Gulf Stream, drew visitors from across Europe.

The resort was planned as a 'town of four seasons': the Summer Town down by the sea, the Winter Town on the hill, and later Autumn and Spring Towns. Today Arcachon is a relaxed family resort of beaches, villas, a promenade and the bay's famous oysters.

What to see

• The Winter Town — 19th-century villas among the pines.
• The Sainte-Cécile observatory — an 1863 lookout tower.
• The beach and promenade — sand and calm bay water.
• The Thiers pier — boats and views of the bay.
• Oyster huts — tastings right by the water.
• The Cap Ferret boat — a crossing over the bay.

The Winter Town

The Winter Town is a hilltop quarter built for visitors who came to recover in the fresh air. Its streets were made deliberately winding to shelter them from the wind, and among the pines stand hundreds of villas in every style, from Swiss chalets to Moorish palaces and Gothic castles. These houses are known as 'arcachonnaises'.

Above the quarter rises the Sainte-Cécile observatory, a 25-metre openwork iron tower built in 1863 by the engineer Paul Régnauld with the help of Gustave Eiffel. Its platform looks out over the rooftops, the pines and the bay. Alexandre Dumas once lived here too.

Beaches and promenade

In the centre of Arcachon is a broad sandy beach with a promenade, cafés and piers. The bay water is much calmer and warmer than the open ocean, so it's easy swimming with children. Further south, around Le Moulleau, the beaches are quieter and cosier.

Boats leave the Thiers pier and its neighbours for the Cap Ferret peninsula with its lighthouse and ocean beaches, the Île aux Oiseaux with its stilt houses, and the foot of the Dune du Pilat. On 15 August a big festival takes place on the water by the pier.

The bay and the Île aux Oiseaux

Arcachon Bay is a vast lagoon that almost empties at low tide, revealing sandbanks. In the middle is the Île aux Oiseaux, where oyster beds have been laid out since the 19th century and the famous huts on stilts stand. You see them from a boat trip round the bay.

Cycle paths, pine forests and small oyster ports ring the bay. In summer it comes alive with yachts, boats, kayaks and fishermen.

Tips for your visit

Allow half a day for Arcachon, a full day with a boat to Cap Ferret or the Dune du Pilat. The Winter Town and tower in the morning, beach and oysters at midday, and a boat or the dune climb towards sunset.

Arcachon combines easily with the Dune du Pilat, 20–30 minutes by bus, and a day in Bordeaux. In summer trains and beaches are packed, so come early.

The promenade is flat and pushchair-friendly; the Winter Town is hilly, but a lift goes up towards the tower. A bike is the best way to get round the bay.

How to do it right

• An hour by train from Bordeaux.
• Oysters September to April.
• Boat to Cap Ferret.
• In summer, come early.

Questions