Domaine de Certes et Graveyron

In the 18th century, the Marquis de Civrac had the salt meadows on the eastern side of the Arcachon Bay diked to create the largest saltworks on the Bay: kilometres of clay dikes, built by moving two million tonnes of earth. The estate was later turned into a fish farm in the 19th century by Ernest Valeton de Boissière, who had the château rebuilt around 1840.

Owned by the Conservatoire du littoral and managed by the département, the Certes and Graveyron estate covers 540 hectares of ponds, wet meadows, reed beds and woodland. A path along the dikes lets you watch egrets, spoonbills, herons and ducks through the seasons. The château, damaged by fire in 2010, is being restored. The site is also a stop on the cycle path that runs round the Bay.

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