Arcachon - is it too close?
Pretty impressive don’t you think. The Dune de Pilat is just south of Arcachon, and is the highest sand dune in Europe. One side pushes up against the great forest of the Landes department, as you see, and the other side is a nice sunny beach on the Atlantic coast.
Nearby you have the attractive and lively town of Arcachon and a little bit further is Bordeaux. Good seafood restaurants abound, and if you are given to drinking you have the Medoc wines just to the north and lots of other vineyards in the region.
The perfect French holiday destination? Perhaps (although in truth there are places with more historical interest and more hills for cycling up and down).
Mrs B tries to go with the girls once a year, but until now, because of looking after the gites, I have never had a holiday at Arcachon. This year we thought (well, Mrs B thought) that a family holiday might be nice. And the one place everyone more or less agrees on is Arcachon. But it does seem a bit, well, close! If I only take one holiday every few years perhaps it should be somewhere a bit harder to get to?
But most places are too hot, too cold, too far, too crowded or too boring for at least one member of the family. We need (apparently) shops, bars, restaurants, history, attractive villages, gardens open to the public, and scenery. Not necessarily in that order. We don’t need a swimming pool, because we have one all the rest of the year!
Are we expecting too much? I quite fancied an apartment in Antibes (although it would probably be too hot and too expensive) or maybe somewhere a bit inland in Provence, and someone else suggested Annecy. Possibly Valencia or maybe Paris with a couple of days in Normandy?
It doesn’t necessarily have to be France but dates and time we can take are quite limited because of our own gites, which complicates things a bit, and it’s better if I can do a bit of research and take some photos for France This Way while I’m there…
All and any suggestions welcome!
You seem to enjoy cycling and a biking holiday along the Normandy beaches is amazing. It helps if you watch The Longest Day before you go. And if you do go make sure you visit Pegasus Bridge and do the tour. The guides are amazing - or at least they were four years ago!
Also the Auvergne.
Angers is lovely and the surrounding area is almost off the beaten track as it’s north of the Loire Valley.
But the best of all in my opinion are the islands of Houat and Hoedic (particularly the former). You can only get there by boat and no cars are allowed. Part of the island is a designated camping area. The beaches are lovely. They are quaint. The non-camping accommodation is expensive though. Try not to go in August or it’s just Paris-sur-Mer.
Now you see these all sound great to me, but if I suggest a remote island to the girls they won’t be so enthusiastic…
On the other hand I intend to be touring around France a lot more myself from now on (gathering information and tax deductible expenses) so I might be able to get there on my own.
But I do have a slight niggling memory of people with overcoats and umbrellas on the Brittany beaches last August!