Arcachon (; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

. It is a popular seaside resort on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast southwest of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, in the Landes forest. It has a sandy beach and a mild climate said to be favourable for people suffering from pulmonary complaints.

History

On 2 May 1857, Emperor Napoleon III signed an imperial decree declaring that Arcachon was now an autonomous municipality; coincidentally, the railway line extension from

to Arcachon had been completed that same year. At that time, Arcachon was scarcely more than a forest of pine trees, oaks and strawberry trees ( arbutus), with no road links and few real houses, with a population fewer than 400 people, mostly fishermen and peasants. In earlier years, when some hygienists began to recommend sea bathing, three sea establishments were laid out by investors to attract the Bordeaux bourgeoisie and other wealthy people. This was the beginning of a new lifestyle, and some of the locals got the opportunity to claim their independence from La Teste-de-Buch, which owned their properties, in order to found a "free" new town, Arcachon. Until 1950, tuberculosis patients also visited Arcachon for fresh-air treatments. Arcachon is known for the "Arcachonnaise", the local name for an Arcachon villa, the architectural style of many of the older houses built there in the nineteenth century. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

established a

naval air station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

on 8 June 1918 to operate

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

s during World War I. The base closed shortly after the First Armistice at Compiègne.

Population

The historic populations of Arcachon from 1861 until 2017 are shown in the table below.

Geography

At its southern entrance from the Atlantic Ocean, Arcachon Bay is crowned by Europe's largest sand dune, the Dune du Pilat, nearly long, wide, reaching in height, and moving inland at rate of a year. Arcachon is one of the largest towns within the Landes forest, alongside Arcachon, Dax, and Mont-de-Marsan. The bay provides excellent conditions for growing

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

s and around 175 hectares of the bay is dedicated to oyster farming. The city enjoys a mild climate thanks to the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...

, a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current originating from the gulf of Mexico.

Transport

The nearest airport is Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport. Arcachon station is daily served by the TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine trains from Bordeaux and also by the TGV Atlantique from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on weekends. Public transportation is operated by buses. Boat excursions around Arcachon Bay are provided for tourism, and boat shuttles offer transport to Cap ferret, the Dune of Pilat, Le Canon, Le Moulleau, Andernos and Banc D'Arguin. Arcachon Gare R01.jpg, Arcachon railway station Photo bus Baïa Arcachon ligne 1.jpg, City buses

People

* Humbert Balsan - film producer, was born in Arcachon in 1954. * Carmen Bernos de Gasztold - poet, was born in Arcachon in 1919. * Sylvie Caster writer and journalist, was born in Arcachon in 1952. *

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

- writer, once lived in Arcachon's Ville d'Hiver. * Ramón Emeterio Betances - Puerto Rican politician, spent close to six months at Arcachon shortly before his death in 1898. * Jean Périsson - composer, was born here in 1924 * Louise Talma - composer, was born here in 1906. * Charles Tournemire - composer-organist, died here in 1939. On the other side of the Bassin d'Arcachon is Cap Ferret, a popular resort for celebrities including

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

and Jean Pierre Pernaut, who have holiday homes.

Twin towns – sister cities

Arcachon is twinned with: *

Aveiro, Portugal Aveiro () is a city and a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. In 2021, the population was 80,880, in an area of : it is the second most populous city in the Centro Region, Portugal, Centro Region of Portugal (after Coimbr ...

* Gardone Riviera,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

External links

Official web site

Dune du Pyla site

Air photography of Arcachon

{{Authority control Communes of Gironde Subprefectures in France Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast