Experience the best of Arcachon

Arcachon lies on the southern shore of the Bassin d'Arcachon, a shallow bay on France's Atlantic coast sheltered behind a sand spit. It grew in the nineteenth century as a seaside and health resort, and the Ville d'Hiver, the winter town on the wooded hillside, keeps ornate villas built for convalescents. A pier, a promenade and a long beach run along the front.

Oyster farms fill the bay, and boats cross to the Île aux Oiseaux, an island with wooden stilt houses called cabanes tchanquées. The Dune du Pilat, south of town, is the tallest sand dune in Europe, a wall of sand between the forest and the sea. Across the bay the Cap Ferret peninsula has oyster huts, a lighthouse and quiet Atlantic beaches, and the pine woods of the Landes spread inland.

Oysters are eaten on the spot, traditionally with small grilled sausages and chilled white wine, with grilled sardines, duck and the wines of Bordeaux to follow. Summer crowds fill the beaches, while September and October are calm and still warm.