Arcachon Bassin cycling tour

The sea, the sun, the small oyster-farming villages ... the Bassin d'Arcachon makes you dream and invites you for a walk. To discover this little corner of paradise, I wanted to get on my bike and go around the Arcachon basin by taking the beautiful bike paths that surround it. To spend oneself in such a beautiful and rich environment is to combine business with pleasure!

A sporting day from Bordeaux 

8:30. We are at Bordeaux train station and our train leaves in a few minutes towards Arcachon. For a dozen euros spent and about fifty minutes of train, we find ourselves on the Bassin with our own bikes. It's so convenient!

let's go

We have planned to spend the day there to go around and take the time to enjoy oysters, take pictures and cool off in the calm water of the Basin. In total, the course is 77km and is relatively flat. We chose to go around in the opposite direction of the clock to finish at Cap Ferret and take the boat back to Arcachon.

All around bassin d’Arcachon

9h28: Arrival in Arcachon by train

We head towards the sea to find the bike path. Rest assured, it is impossible to get lost and there is a site that can help you locate (click). Throughout the course, there are signs with QR codes that link to this site.

Very Handy

Very quickly, we move away from the city and we take beautiful paths in nature. We pass close to the fishing ports and we go to visit the surroundings of Gujan-Mestras. With these 7 ports, its oyster house and its traditional houses, we can see on every street corner that the oyster is queen here. It is a little early to start the tasting but we intend to catch up later!

cycling path in nature

The house of osters

The path is superb, varied and very accessible. We cross sections of paths in the nature and sections in ports, villages ... It's really ideal for cycling.

12h32: Gourmet stopover in the lively town of Andernos-les-Bains

After more than 45km of cycling in beautiful landscapes, the belly begins to cry famine and the legs claim a little rest. That's good, we arrive in the beautiful city of Andernos. With these lively streets and pleasant seaside, it is ideal for a gourmet stopover. For me, it will be mussels fries, I dreamed about it for a long time.

I love mussels

Adernos very nice place

After a good meal, it's time to hit the road again. The path is superb and passes close to key places such as the Andernos pier, the hut of the resin, the Pointe aux Chevaux ... In addition to these interesting stops that punctuate the ride, the bike path is in superb condition. On one side, it is an old railway that crosses the pine forests. It's calm and it feels so good! On the way, we see pretty train stations have been refurbished as in Ares where villagers play petanque.

A stop to admire the talent of Ares players

Away from the road and in the heart of the forest 

15h: Arrival on the peninsula of Lège-Cap-Ferret 

This part is one of our favorites. There are several ways to reach Cap Ferret, and we decided to go east to enjoy the small villages. It seems that the track to the west is more nature. It is a perfect place to learn more about oyster farming and enjoy delicious fresh oysters. I recommend a stop at the Cabane 57 for these good seafood and for the superb view of the pond!

Let's taste them !

Fresh and delicious oysters

Among the villages we explored, we fell in love with the oyster farming village of L'Herbe. The small traditional and colorful houses are emblematic of this place. Formerly, they were only used to store equipment. Then some sinners settled there. I loved to walk in the narrow alleys, admire the small wooden houses, and see in the background the sea .... To learn more about the history of the place and fill up on anecdotes, it is possible to take a guided tour with Oysters of Cap Ferret SCEA LB. Tours of oyster areas are also organized to explain the work of sinners!

Herbs village, let's have a stroll !

Beautiful places on the way

For sure, they are fresh ! 

17h: In the direction of Cap Ferret

Last section of this splendid loop, we descend towards Cap Ferret to take the boat to the jetty of Belisaire. On this last portion, we were a little surprised by the elevations because the road was very flat until now. It is not a mountain road either but with 70km in the legs, it pulls!

Well, next time, we'll go cycling in Lacanau

We were so good in this beautiful corner of Gironde that we lost the notion of time and managed to just take the last boat! Be careful to watch the schedules. In summer, boats are very common.

After the train, we put our bikes on a boat

Arrived at Arcachon, we quietly take the direction of the station Arcachon to leave for Bordeaux to. It was a perfect day, we had a good time and we had a good time!

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