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The Arcachon Basin

Gironde’s top spot for bathing tourism, the Arcachon Basin has taken care to preserve its natural heritage intact, as an integral part of the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park.
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Gironde’s top spot for bathing tourism, the Arcachon Basin has taken care to preserve its natural heritage intact, as an integral part of the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park.
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The “Basin”, as native Girondins refer to it, was dear to the hearts of the painter Toulouse-Lautrec and Jean Cocteau, and may be experienced not only aboard a pinasse, the traditional flat-bottomed boat emblematic of the Basin, but also on land, in the little oyster-farming ports that have kept all their authenticity.

Painters never weary of the incredible palette of colours afforded by the Arcachon Basin, whose blue-green waters also entrance those who choose dawn as the time to discover the Ile aux Oiseaux (Bird Island) by sea kayak. It is unthinkable to come to Gironde and not visit the Arcachon Basin !

Zoom in on the Arcachon Basin – nature at its most intense Reduce

Zoom in on the Arcachon Basin – nature at its most intense

Born of the wind and the marine currents, the Arcachon Basin is a 155- km² inland sea that has been washed by the Atlantic Ocean since the Quaternary period and whose present shape has remained largely unchanged since the 17th century.

Submitted to the rhythm of the daily tides, the Basin’s landscapes are in a constant state of change. Water sculpts their every inch, whether they are used for oyster farming, water sports and leisure activities, or reserved for the protection of fauna and flora.

Few people know it, but the quality of the Arcachon Basin’s waters makes it the leading national producer of oyster spats. Two out of three oysters eaten in France were raised there.

The Arcachon Basin’s oyster-farming ports and villages have lost none of their original authenticity, and have a charm all of their own. You can treat yourself to a dozen oysters in any one of them, of course, but there are also prawns, clams, sole and bass on the menu – so don’t miss out!

The Arcachon Basin is also nearly 70 km of ocean beaches along with calmer waters within the Basin itself – not forgetting the fresh waters of Lake Cazaux, the second largest natural lake in France. 

The many open-air activities on offer enable everyone to discover the Arcachon Basin in their own way – sailing, fishing , sea kayaking, touring the Basin aboard a pinasse, by bike or on foot along the coast roads , or paragliding from the Great Dune of Pilat .

Did you know? Reduce

Did you know?

The waters of the Abatilles spring in the municipality of Arcachon are drawn from 472 metres underground, making it the deepest anywhere in France.