Arcachon and the Silver Coast

The Bassin d'Arcachon represents one of France's most distinctive coastal environments. This triangular bay, almost entirely enclosed except for a narrow passage between Cap Ferret and the Dune du Pilat, creates a marine ecosystem unique in Europe. The basin's shallow waters warm quickly in summer, supporting extensive oyster cultivation that produces 10,000 tons annually.

Arcachon itself divides into four quarters named for the seasons, each with distinct character. The Ville d'Été (Summer Town) bustles with beach life and seafood restaurants. The Ville d'Hiver (Winter Town), built on dunes above the waterfront, preserves extraordinary 19th-century villas built for tubercular patients seeking the healing properties of pine-scented air. These architectural fantasies—Swiss chalets, Moorish palaces, Gothic castles—create a unique cityscape protected as a historic monument.

The oyster farmers of the basin maintain traditions dating to the 1860s, when the native flat oysters were decimated by disease and replaced with Portuguese oysters, themselves later replaced by Japanese Pacific oysters. The cabanes tchanquées—wooden huts on stilts that serve as tool sheds and refuges at high tide—have become symbols of the basin, their silhouettes gracing countless postcards and paintings.

The Dune du Pilat, Europe's highest sand dune at over 100 meters, marks the basin's ocean boundary. This mobile mountain of sand advances inexorably eastward, burying forests and occasionally buildings in its path. Climbing the dune rewards with views encompassing ocean, forest, and basin—a panorama that captures the Aquitaine coast's diverse beauty. Paragliders launch from its crest, surfers ride waves at its base, and millions of visitors climb its sandy flanks, contributing to erosion even as they marvel at nature's power.