When I think of France, I think of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the cuisine, French couture, vineyards, and wine. I may even think of hiking or skiing in the French Alps, but I seldom think of French beaches. They just do not register; however, France is almost bordered in beaches. The entire western coastline is on the Atlantic and the southeast corner of the country, romantically referred to as the South of France, is on the Mediterranean Sea. French beaches are lovely, and they are very popular vacation spots for Europeans. Years ago we spent a night or two in Nice on the French Rivera and walked along the pebbly beach there. It was and still is a place for the rich and famous! Beaches on the western coast are less exclusive but are beautiful and plentiful. We visited a few.
Soulac Sur Mer
In an earlier post about markets, I spoke about how we happened to arrive at Soulac Sur Mer. Seeing this place was like an angel saying, “So you missed seeing the oldest French lighthouse at Le Verdon-Sur-Mer? I will show you another way.”
Arriving at Soulac, we had a lovely cup of café and a croissant. After the train ride, slowly enjoying the café and roll was a very civilized moment! At the small restaurant, we not only met and talked with the owner but we met his gorgeous cat, Nelson. Afterward, we followed the signs and our instincts to the beach. The Atlantic beach in this part of the world is wide, very wide. The water is blue with white fringed waves and the sand is soft and mellow-yellow. Although we’ve been told this part of Europe is warmed by the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, people in the water wore wetsuits. Brrrr!
We walked the wide paved beachside promenade there from end to end. We passed families with tots in strollers, people on electric scooters, and of course, lots of people walking, jogging, or riding bikes and skateboards. The promenade was decorated with flags of Europe. Near the end of the walk, we came upon a display of three flags: a French Flag, the European Union Flag, and the flag of the United States of America. The three flags flanked a miniature but still, a quite tall Statue of Liberty cast from the very same molds used to make our own Statue of Liberty given to us by France in 1866. We have seen this beautiful, slightly green, crowned exquisite lady quite a few times. She is always, always welcoming and heart-warming. To see her here was so exciting and moving.
I hope our country remains welcoming to all those who need our care.
We spent some time sitting on the stone wall mesmerized by the waves that continually seek the beach. At every angle an opportunity for an interesting photo presented itself. Stan has eyesight like that of an eagle. As we sat there, he pointed to a slim white vertical line on the horizon. He said, “That’s the lighthouse.” I zoomed in and yes, it was indeed, it was the Courdouan Lighthouse we saw. It is what we came to see that day earlier in the morning in the rain! Although rebuilt and restored numerous times, this, the oldest, still functioning lighthouse has stood there on that islet since 1611 and is sometimes called “the king of lighthouses, the lighthouse of kings” or even “The Versailles of the Seas.” We saw it! Thank you!
Arcachon
Our next French beach encounter was via train ride south to Arcachon. To get an idea of this place, picture the Atlantic coastline of France; it’s a fairly straight line from north to south, broken only by the Gironde River at the City of Bordeaux and a bubble-like bay, south of the city called the Bassin D’Arcachon.
Compared to villages we visited within the Bordeaux region, Arcachon is a city with over 200,000 inhabitants. It is one of the most popular vacation destinations in this part of France receiving over half a million visitors in July and August alone.
In 1850, though it was just a dot between the Atlantic and the basin with only about 400 peasants living there. About this time, sea bathing became a popular remedy for respiratory ailments. Investors built three resorts in this pretty but relatively unknown area attracting wealthy people from Bordeaux. A new train connection completed in the same period between Bordeaux and Arcachon paved the way for big growth. The village quickly grew into a city with grand houses, and an untold number of restaurants, hotels, and resorts.
We were quite impressed with ourselves for finding the Villa Dumas that we were told once belonged to Alexandre Dumas, the prolific French author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. When we stood in front of the house, Stan and I could imagine him sitting in the gazebo under its vines as he dreamed of the characters in his books. Among all the grand homes in Arcachon, the Villa Dumas may be the most beautiful. However, as we learned later, the house merely carries the Alexandre Dumas name; it was never his home. Ah, the magic of folklore . . . the tale goes on regardless of the fact the house was constructed 15 years after the writer’s death.
We didn’t see the Atlantic beach on this day trip. We only saw the portion of the beach on the basin. The basin is a quite large body of water; other banks on the basin can only be seen in the far, far distance. And the islands in the basin are so far away they cannot be seen at all. The very wide soft-sandy beaches are perfect for sunning and for sand pails and spades. Like those on Lake Erie or Lake Michigan, the gentle lapping waves are ideal for young children. A mom’s careful watch is still required, however. We couldn’t help chuckling a little when a wave whacked an unsuspecting tot from behind, knocking his little sunhat down over his eyes and before he could get fully righted, another wave slurped him again.
The Bassin D’Arcachon is a very busy body of water with tour boats taking tourists around the islands in the basin, ferries shuttling people from one side of the inlet to the other, and sailboats and sports crafts zipping across the bay.
The area is known for its oyster beds. We had a small plate of them at lunch. They were tasty but in no way come close to the plump, juicy Gulf oysters! Plus the French don’t know cocktail sauce or horseradish. Oysters here are served with lemon, vinegar, or aioli. Another very popular dish in Arcachon is Mussels, Moules as they are called here. A serving is a whole big steaming lidded bucket full and they are delicious. The proper way to eat mussels is to leave the fork in the kitchen and pick up the first one with your fingers and pick out the meat. Then using that empty shell as pincers, tweeze the meat from the rest of the moules one at a time. Empty shells go in the lid of the bucket. Be sure to slurp the brine first. A person may eat a whole bucket full of mussels and the amount of meat in that bucket is equivalent to maybe a chicken leg. Sometimes a chunk of bread is served alongside. That’s for sopping the broth left in the bucket.
I love learning new things!
Lége-Cap-Ferret
Closing in on our last few days in Bordeaux, we almost chose not to make this day trip, but are so happy we did. The bus picked us up right on time at 7:37 am and connected us with the 601 bus that took us out of Bordeaux, through the suburbs, and down the peninsula to the very tip of the northern side of the Arcachon Basin. The La Ponte bus stop in Lege-Cap-Ferret is the end of the line. We got off the bus and found ourselves in a remote area in a pleasant, quiet, beach house neighborhood. Few people and very little else were there. But clearly, we reached the point where the waters of the bay merge with the waters of the Atlantic. Cap Ferret is famous for its oysters, lighthouse, pine forests, beautiful beaches, and extensive cycle paths. The currents in this area are very strong; the beach is fenced off to keep people off the dunes but also to keep people out of the dangerous water. There is a trail that leads from the Le Point north to the Atlantic side where the dunes are not in peril and the water is a little calmer. Not calm enough for me though! Those waves could easily pick you up, toss you about, and have you in Mozambique before you even get your first breath. We saw only a few surfers braving the waves. The beach is tremendous!! It is the widest beach I have ever seen! From shore to dunes it’s a good 1,000 feet wide. And between the waves and the dunes are many tidal pools where kids and dogs can romp and stomp safely.
Our goal in coming to this place was to see the lighthouse and to walk from the bayside to the Atlantic side of this little finger of land approaching the basin. The lighthouse is not on the Point but back a bit to the north. We walked a trail from the La Ponte to the beach on the Atlantic, then followed the coastline on easy-walking, damp sand two miles north to where we guessed we might be in line with the lighthouse.
A well-worn path between the dunes took us there. Walking that path was . . . hard. The sand was deep. Trudging uphill, each step forward, swished us back a half-step. We just keep putting one step in front of the other and stopping every little bit to catch our breath and let our thighs recover a little. It was a long way too!
On our beach walk passed a couple of concrete structures. Stan thought they might be bunkers. At the Lighthouse a former underground bunker from 1943 had been excavated so that visitors could get a better look. The concrete walls were three feet thick. Inside were storage rooms and a room that doubled for dining and bunks. This one and the others we saw were part of the “Atlantic Wall” in WW II. History comes alive when you can actually see and walk through it.
We had just enough time for lunch then catch the 601 back to Bordeaux. We walked into a place that looked like a restaurant but they quickly told us it was not. It was instead an oyster house. They harvest oysters and deal in them commercially. Yes, you can get a meal there but their menu is limited. They offer one type of white wine and one rose’, steamed shrimp and sea snails – nothing else — but legally they cannot sell those things without an order of oysters. And that’s it.
The atmosphere was inviting. We sat on a covered wooden deck looking over the bay – the tide was out so we merely saw boats landlocked in mud for the time being. We had white wine, a small basket of bread and butter, half dozen Arcachon oysters and half dozen oysters from Brittany; six very beautiful shrimp, and a bowl of big, chewy sea snails. Snails? I always try new things! We are probably done with French oysters, huitres as they are called here; we greatly prefer our oysters at home, but the crevettes (shrimp) and sea snails are something we might seek again.
In closing, the French beaches are magnificent! The water here is not clear like those in Portugal or on our beautiful Gulf Coast and the currents are supremely powerful. But French beach towns are fun and beachy . . . just like ours. French beaches are plentiful; and they are worth seeing, fantastic for shelling, and good for scorching your buns.
