Sweet October day at Pyla, Arcachon....

Almost 30 degrees the whole weekend... an incredible Saturday (with my husband working with the barbecue) ending with boeuf de Chalosse on the plancha and a lukewarm evening on the terrace... really felt like high summer time.

We spent Sunday around Arcachon. First lunch in Arcachon and then - my daughter has been asking for this whole summer - we went to Dune de Pyla again. The skies were grey but this place is still amazing....


First lunch at Café de la Plage. Oysters of course!


And the traditional sausage to accompany the oysters. At least that is what they do here in Arcachon.


I had a lovely whole dorade.


This is the place.

You can have just a drink too.

The beach in front of the restaurant, in between the two piers where the sightseeing boats take off.

My husband gazing out over the sea.

Kids were swimming!!! Adults too.


Here we are at the top of Dune de Pyla in Pyla-sur-Mer. The most visited tourist attraction in Gironde, well worth the trip.


The sky was grey but at times the sun shone through.


What a play area! But also adults were rolling down the sandy hill, running like crazy, jumping to make spectacular photos....


Here comes the sun. Only lasted a short while but wow....


The trees down there looked very small from over 100 metres high up.

Teich, the bird paradise

Teich and its ornitological parc is the place to make you interested in birds, if you're not already into birds. You find this protected area next to the Arcachon Bay, a bay rich in fish and a great feeding stop for migrating birds. Among many others, here you'll find a great population of cranes.

The parc area of 120 ha stretches over several different water landscapes, from drier parts with forest and meadows towards the sea through wetlands and lagons, which means that you can find any kind of bird here, no matter what living conditions they prefer.

There are differents paths proposed, a super short of about 200 metres, a medium of 2 km and a long of 4 km. Along the paths you find view points and explanatory signs, pictures of the most common birds and some information about their habits.

Silver heron with a fish catch. Photo Phil033 Flickr.

When I went there last spring with the children, we tried the medium path. Parts of it is surrounded by bushes, planted both to offer protection and hiding places for the birds as well as berries and insects.  We felt like being in a cocoon with birds singing all around us - although we don't see most of them - and here and there comes openings towards water points. Very, very peaceful.

We had only one pair of binoculars - you can rent them - so the children took turns looking at the birds. Each new bird became a discovery! Look, a swan! There swims a duck! We studied the mighty cranes, high up hatching their newly  laid eggs. We entered the covered sighting places, to watch without being seen. Here comes a high gaggling sound .... it is the cranes!


Afterwards we had a picnic by the little pond just outside the parc. The water was chilly, but the place must be really nice in summer, to have a little swim after the birds and maybe even an icecream from the little hut next to it.

White storks. Picture Wikipedia.  

Exciting to watch witout being seen...

Peaceful too.

Curious duck!

The little pond just outside the parc.

Amusement parc in Gujan-Mestras

I've written about the oyster fishing village Gujan-Mestras before, but now it is time to add something different. There are no less than three amusement parcs in this area, Aqualand with 8 ha of pools and all sorts of water games, biggest parc in Aquitaine,  Coccinelle where you can play, watch magic tricks and a farm where you can feed the animals and last but not least, Kid Parc, an adventure island for children 0-12 years.

We went to Kid Parc last summer. The kids loved it! I liked it too, especially because I felt that the size was human, so you quickly got an overview of what there was to do.  I have now promised that we will go there again. I have just not given a specific date yet...

Gujan Mestras and the seven Oyster Harbours

The Larosse Harbour in Gujan Mestras makes for a perfect postcard picture with the oyster farmers small boats and the little huts where you can taste fresh oysters with chilled white wine. Gujan Mestras has no less than seven harbours and stands for half of the Arcachon Bay's oysters.

I went there last spring with the children. We started with some play time on the Hume beach next to Gujan Mestras. The tide was low, so the sand stretched far out and the boats where tipped on the side. The air smells of sea! This just dry landscape is difficult to take pictures of, it is beautiful in a subtle way with shades of green and grey and beige...

When we arrive at the Larosse Harbour, the questions from the children start pouring. Why are there so many boats? What is this, they say and point at the tiles painted white or at some strange plastic thing, like a stick with wings... The huts huddle together along the pier and several offer a simple service of fresh oysters.

Larosse is also the centre for pinasse construction. Pinasse is a long, sleek boat with a high front, ideal to pass in shallow waters but still resistant enough to take on the ocean waves at the opening of the bay. You can rent a pinasse with a captain or admire them at different competitions in the bay.

Photo Wikipedia

We continue to the Oyster Museum, Maison de l'Huître, where you can learn all about oyster farming. Small but well thought, the visit starts with a film and then takes you through the different parts of the life of an oyster. It gives you answers to many questions you might have about tools you see in the harbour. Personally I was surprised to learn that it takes three years to grow an oyster and I was not aware of the amount of work it takes to do oyster farming. You only see the farmers at high tide, because at low tide they are out in the bay taking care of their oysters. I am preparing another post to tell you more about oyster farming!

In August you can participate in the Oyster Festival in Gujan Mestras. Five days with over 100 000 visitors, music, oyster tastings and a festive mood!

The ladybug is a symbol for Gujan Mestras. There used to be vast vineyards around the bay. When they were attacked by lice, the people blamed the ladybugs that came to eat the lice. The inhabitants of Gujan Mestras were called barbots, which mean ladybug in gascon language. Today the ladybug is seen on the city armour and other official decorations - and everybody knows that the lice were the culprits.

The seven harbours of Gujan Mestras are La Hume, Meyran, Gujan, Larosse, Barbotière, Mole and the canal. Hume has a very nice beach, shallow and perfect for children.

Presentation of Gujan Mestras in French and English.

Arcachon, with oysters and love

View of the Moulleau beach in Arcachon. Further away the Pyla sand dune. Photo Wikipedia

My first visit to Arcachon was to see my friend Nathalie, who has a summer house there. She showed us around, the Winter City area with the crazy architect houses, the shopping street in the centre, the marina, the old fishermen area and the main pedestrian street longing the beach. I fell in love instantly.

Arcachon has, like the villages around the Arcachon Bay, a special light, a closeness to the sea and its movements, its smells. The tide decides a lot for life here, taking the water far out at low tide, setting the boats ready to go at high tide. It also sets the working hours for the fishermen, because they can only take care of the oysters at low tide.

Arcachon is like the capital for the Arcachon Bay. It is a perfect starting point for discovering this unique region, by car, by bike or by boat. It's always lively here all year around. Many people living in Bordeaux have their summer house in this area.

 Photo from Wikipedia.

Arcachon is a newly built city. It was created when some smart business men prolonged the railway line all the way out here and built a recreation area in the beginning of the 18th century. The oldest part of Arcachon is called the Winter City and lies up on a hill next to the city centre and the beach. Here you find incredible houses to admire - maybe not always beautiful but always interesting. After that, the Spring City, around the Pereira garden, was built, followed by the Summer City, the city centre of today. The Automn City consists of the original fishermen houses and is situated close to the marina and the fishermen harbour.

One of my favourite places is the Café de la Plage, at the pier Eyrac. You can sit on the terrace and admire the view of the palm trees, the beach and the sea. Their specialty is seafood - surprise! A local specialty is to serve the oysters with small sausages (crépinettes) or even foie gras. You can also order cooked oysters, fried with vegetables, barbecued, in the oven or stuffed...  Another good address is Chez Yvette - for seafood of course.

I highly recommend a boat trip in the Bay area. We tried a two hour long one to discover the Bird Isle, Ile des Oiseaux. You get to see the shacks on stilts nearby, the oyster farms, the birds and above all, you get a good look at all these small villages around the bay.  There are also a regular ferry between Arcachon and Cap Ferret, the village at the end of the bay arm.

I love the Arcachon Bay

A symbol for the Arcachon Bay. Photo from Wikipedia

Sorry to be so uncool, so not blasé at all. Very sorry, but how can you remain cool in front of a magical place like this? And worse, how do you describe it to somebody who has never been there? How do you explain the saltiness of the air, the wind, the sun that reflects in the water, the ever-changing landscape that moves with the tides?

The shacks on stilts - cabanes tchanquées in French - have become a symbol for the Arcachon Bay. They were used as a view point to guard the oyster fields.

The entrance to the Arcachon Bay. Photo Wikipedia

The Arcachon Bay is situated along the Atlantic coast, almost at the same height as Bordeaux. It is a big bay where a tongue of land lays as a protective arm  around the small entrance. The water in the bay is thus protected and a bit warmer than the sea water, making it a great nursery for baby oysters. Its production covers 70 percent of the European oysters.

Map of the Arcachon Bay. Photo Wikipedia.

Here you can explore the city of Arcachon, all the fishermen villages around the bay, the sand dune Pyla, the amusement parcs for children, the bird protection area in Teich and of course eat all the seafood you want!