Arcachon

Arcachon broke away from La Teste-de-Buch to become a commune in its own right in 1857, under Napoleon III. A seaside resort born on the north shore of the bay, between dunes and pine forest, it was conceived as a "town of four seasons": a Summer Town along the seafront, an Autumn Town, a Spring Town and above all the Winter Town (Ville d'Hiver), laid out around 1862-1865 at the instigation of the Pereire brothers to welcome a wealthy clientele from Bordeaux and Europe.

Today, you can discover the villas of varied styles of the Ville d'Hiver in its wooded park, the Notre-Dame basilica facing the bay, the Château Deganne, a former seaside casino, and the piers, including the Jetée Thiers, which punctuate the seafront promenade. Oyster farming, encouraged from the nineteenth century, remains a component of local heritage, and the Dune du Pilat lies nearby.

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