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 The Landes forest (; La forêt des Landes in French) in the Landes de Gascogne (las Lanas de Gasconha in the Gascon language), in the historic Gascony natural region of southwestern France now known as Aquitaine, is the largest man-made woodlan ...

. 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 Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

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 ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands a ...

), 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 La Teste-de-Buch (; , ; "La Teste-of-Buch") is a coastal commune in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in Southwestern France.Arcachon villa Arcachon is known for the Arcachonnaise, the local name for an Arcachon villa, which is the architectural style of many of the older houses built in France. It is a type of Victorian architecture. See also * Arcachon Bay * Communes of the Giro ...

, 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 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

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 Arcachon Basin or alternatively Arcachon Bay (, ; ) is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest coast of France, situated in Pays de Buch between the Côte d'Argent and the Côte des Landes, in the region of Aquitaine. The bay covers an ar ...

is crowned by Europe's largest sand dune, the

Dune du Pilat The Dune of Pilat ( , official name), also called ''Grande Dune du Pilat'', is the tallest sand dune in Europe. It is located in La Teste-de-Buch in the Arcachon Bay area, France, 60 km (37.2 mi) southwest of Bordeaux along France's At ...

, nearly long, wide, reaching in height, and moving inland at rate of a year. Arcachon is one of the largest towns within the

, 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 Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten. Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Rome, ancient Romans as early as the ...

. 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 Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport () is an international airport of Bordeaux, in southwestern France. It is situated in the Communes of France, ''commune'' of Mérignac, Gironde, Mérignac, west of Bordeaux, within the ''Departments of France, dé ...

Arcachon station Arcachon station ( French: ''Gare d'Arcachon'') is a railway station in Arcachon, Gironde, Southwestern France. Opened in 1857, it is the western terminus of the Lamothe–Arcachon railway. The train services are operated by the SNCF. Train ser ...

is daily served by the

TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the regional rail network serving the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER Aquitaine, TE ...

trains from Bordeaux and also by the

TGV Atlantique The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in France by SNCF; they were built by Alstom between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of TGV trains, following on from the TGV Sud-Est trainsets. The trains were named ...

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

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 Humbert Jean René Balsan (21 August 1954 – 10 February 2005) was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. He was known for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films. In February 2005, ...

- film producer, was born in Arcachon in 1954. *

Carmen Bernos de Gasztold Carmen Bernos de Gasztold (9 October 1919 – 23 September 1995) was a French poet who lived in a Benedictine abbey. Her most famous collection is titled ''Prayers from the Ark''. The 1955 publication consists of short poems, each expressing ...

- poet, was born in Arcachon in 1919. *

Sylvie Caster Sylvie Caster (born 1952 in Arcachon, Gironde) is a French journalist and writer. Biography After studying journalism and political science in Bordeaux, Sylvie Caster published numerous columns, notably in ''Charlie Hebdo'' from 1976 to 1981 at ...

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 Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán (April 8, 1827 – September 16, 1898) was a Puerto Rican independence leader, abolitionist and medical doctor. He led the nations independence movement and was the primary instigator of the ''Grito de Lares' ...

- 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 Louise Juliette Talma (October 31, 1906August 13, 1996) was an American composer, academic, and pianist. After studies in New York and in France, piano with Isidor Philipp and composition with Nadia Boulanger, she focused on composition from 1935 ...

- composer, was born here in 1906. *

Charles Tournemire Charles Arnould Tournemire (22 January 1870 – 3 or 4 November 1939) was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant. His compositions include eight symphon ...

- composer-organist, died here in 1939. On the other side of the Bassin d'Arcachon is

Cap Ferret Cap Ferret (; English: Cape Ferret) is a headland situated at the south end of the commune of Lège-Cap-Ferret in the Gironde department in the French southwestern Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The headland takes the form of a spit, which separa ...

, 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 Gardone Riviera ( Gardesano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is situated on the western shore of Lake Garda. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Twin towns Gard ...

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