The Atlantic coast: a beautiful camping area
The Atlantic coast, a wonderful area for your next camping holiday. Keywords are rugged and wild. Large differences between high and low tide provide an enormous abundance of oysters and other delicacies on the French southwest coast. Surfing or looking for shells? It's all possible here.
The Atlantic coast is an Eldorado for island hoppers. Île de Ré, Île d’Aix and Île d’Oleron: each island with its own charm. Île de Ré is known for its white fishermen's houses overgrown with hollyhocks. You'll find charming fishing ports, villages with narrow streets and sturdy fortresses. Here you can visit the salt pans, where salt is still harvested by evaporating seawater by the sun.
Fun day trips
The island of l’Île d’Aix is a nice day trip. In a few hours you can cycle around the entire island, past beautiful bays, ruins and old forts. Perhaps the nicest island is Île d’Oléron, where entire families search for shellfish on the extensive beaches. The island is full of pine trees: an ideal place for a picnic with delicious cheeses and baguettes.
Atlantic coast: plenty of variety
The variety on the Atlantic coast is enormous. Take La Rochelle, a beautiful seaside resort in the north. Highlights include the old port, the towers and the shopping streets where you can shop for nice souvenirs under the arcades.
Chic seaside resort Biarritz
The other extreme is the fashionable Biarritz, which was once home to whalers. In decades, the town grew into one of the most chic seaside resorts on the French coast. Along the boulevard, luxury hotels stand shoulder to shoulder and there are plenty of terraces. You might still see seals lying around, or you can marvel at – or in – the art-deco casino where dozens of tourists try their luck.
Peace in the interior
For those seeking peace and quiet, birdwatchers and cyclists, the inland area is a wonderful place: Les Landes. This used to be a marshland, but now the vast hinterland is home to the largest pine forest in Europe. And while you're there: visit the Vézère valley, an unspoiled piece of nature with remnants from prehistory, or more specifically: the Paleolithic era. You'll have to imagine the dinosaurs yourself!
Recommendations
Visit the city of Bordeaux: the most important city in the region. Port de la Lune is the beautiful 18th-century district and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Fun with children
At the Centre Equestre Marina (in Mimizan-Plage) you can go horseback riding on the beach under supervision. With the whole family!
Delicious food
Fruits de Mer! A whole platter of seafood for yourself! And on Île de Ré, take home a jar of sea salt: 'Fleur de Sel', with delicate crystals. Also try a glass of 'Pineau des Charentes': a sweet aperitif made from grape must with cognac.
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