Lacanau Océan in the Médoc !!!

Posted in Europe, France

And now let me update for you and me this wonderful older post to our favorite off our area beaches. And even if a bit cool now, the sunny season is about to start, good time to do some planning for the future. Let me tell you a bit on Lacanau-Océan in the Médoc !!! Hope you enjoy it as I

Why not tell you a bit on a more sunny nice weather area we love so much and spent many summers there. This is a bit of a mix bag for me as can combine the best wine and the world with beautiful beaches.  I will be telling you a bit more (as several posts in my blog already) on the Médoc; yes this area many call it Bordeaux for its wines but is not Bordeaux administratrice as it is a peninsula away from the city and full of gorgeous mansions of wine chateau fame . However, most do not know that  a bit to the west of this river of Reds is the wonderful Atlantic ocean and its gorgeous beaches of the Médoc peninsula. Let me bring you to one we love Lacanau-Océan, the beach resort and Lacanau Ville the city proper.

lacanau-ocean-beach-kids-medoc

Lacanau is located in the Gironde dept. 33, in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region. The town of Lacanau, crossed by the 45th parallel north, is thus situated at an equal distance from the North Pole and the Earth’s equator (about 5 000 km). Lacanau is located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Médoc, west of the Dept of Gironde, 42 km north-west of Bordeaux. The Ocean coast of Médoc offers a line of more than 100 km of beaches made of fine sand.

There are three natural areas: the beach and the dune call Côte d’Argent or Silver Coast; the Landes Forest (Landes du Médoc), which, unlike the rest of Gascony Landes, is not the result of the intensive afforestation of the 19C; and the lake of Lacanau, one of the great Landes Lakes.

The town is composed of several zones: Lacanau-Ville, consisting of the village. Lacanau-Océan, (the one we always stayed here) area on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. A seaside resort, it appeared at the beginning of the 20C. Sketched during the period between the two wars, it developed in the years 1960-1970, as part of the development of the Aquitaine coast. Lacanau-Océan is separated from Lacanau-Ville by the road D6 and 13 km and the lake of Lacanau-Lac, composed of several hamlets such as Talaris, Le Moutchic, le Tedey, Longarisse, La Grande Escoure, and Carreye.

We always come here by car unless a once in a while business trip to Bordeaux but not into the Médoc, there only by car. However, Lacanau is served by several bus lines of the regional bus network such as line 702, which departs from the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean train station; line 611, which joins the Lége-Cap-Ferret; line 714 connecting Lacanau-Océan to Lacanau-Ville; line 715 which connects Lacanau-Océan to Cussac-Fort-Médoc; and the 716 line that connects Lacanau-Océan to Macau. Webpage: https://transports.nouvelle-aquitaine.fr/modalis

Villas popped up from the sands and were completed for the most part in 1906-1907: The Primavera, the villa of the founder of the resort, Pierre Ortal, unfortunately destroyed at the end of the 1970’s. In its place, was elevated a modern construction, which is not the ugliest among those built in those years, but it is only a meagre consolation. The Chalet Bonnamy (the current hôtel de la Côte d’Argent), and the Villa les Mouettes of the Princeteau family, all three having been the first built on the Boulevard de la Plage. At the same time, Villa les Genêts and hôtel Marian (current Hotel Australien). On the current street allées Ortal,the beautiful site of Jean Émile Faugère the most beautiful residence of the station that the descendants of this man invest still in summer and Villa PH alias Plaisance . During WWI, American soldiers set up a seaplane base and a flight school at Moutchic, which will then become a sanatorium and then a medical-school center.

Things to see are plenty but will highlight in black my favorites ok

The beaches of the city of Lacanau have been awarded the Blue Flag label (pavillon bleu) are are superbe. The intersection of the 45th parallel north and the 1st meridian west of Greenwich is located on the territory of the commune !. The Lac de Lacanau for boating enthusiasts. Lacanau has two churches, the Church of Saint Vincent located in Lacanau-Ville, of the 18CC, and the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Flôts in Lacanau-Océan, of the 20C. Monument to the American Fallen in WWI at Moutchic, on which are registered the names of nine American seaplane pilots from the base of the Moutchic. Monument in homage to Pierre Ortal c 1906, founder of the resort. Villa Plaisance, today’s city town hall annex of Lacanau-Océan, and designed in 1906 and bequested to the local govt in 1994.   Villa Beau Site c.1906, Villa Cerberé ,c. 1907, Villa Les Mouettes c.1906, Villa Yora c. 1909, Villa Les Dunes c. 1913, Villa Chante-Mer, Villa Stella, Villa La Vague, Villa les Iris, Villa M’Arena, neo-Basque style, Villa Clair Bois, Villa Fleur du Lac, Villa Thaïs, and several others.

lacanau-ocean-xavier-remi-front-of-tourist-office-aug08

The beaches at Lacanau-Océan are 16 km long or about 10 miles and are three south, central, and north (sud, central, nord).  From the city center you go down steps into the sand for the plage Centrale or central beach, and very close to all shops restos bars etc. So,therefore ,the most crowded part. The others are reach on foot from city center too but on neighborhood more residentials. So you still close to all amenities but less crowded. The plage Sud or south has a huge parking for 2000 cars/autos with pines shades, need to cross a dune of sand on wooden trails with a spectacular view over the beach; been the more open nature beach. The plage nord or north beach is the one we access from the camping and is so wide and wild and much less crowded as the part of the camping made it private beach. This is super tranquility and good ambiance with the camping folks.

Enjoy the fact that on the ocean side you have wonderful beaches and on the river side you have the best wines in the world, the center is full of pine trees landscape and farms you have the real France at your fingertips or wheelstip. Plublic transport is available even bus from Bordeaux to Pauillac but here the car is king.  This is a great area off the beaten path to many visitors especially from elsewhere as it does attract several Europeans, especially British, German, Dutch, and Belgians.  We have been here always on the Grands Pins camping right off the North beach, as Lacanau Océan is divided into the Plage Sud, Plage Centrale, and Plage Nord. All beautiful!!! Of course, this is a world center on surfing!

lacanau-ocean-plage-nord-view-from-walkpass-aug08

Some webpages to cover most or everything you need to know here and of course ask me ::)

The city of Lacanau on history and heritage: https://www.lacanau.fr/lacanau/histoire-et-patrimoine-de-lacanau/

The town of Lacanau-Océan on its beaches: https://lacanauocean.com/fr/lacanau-plage.htm

The Médoc Lacanau tourist office on the beaches: http://medoc-tourisme.com/en/incontournables/endless-beaches/

The Gironde dept 33 tourist office on the Lacanau beaches:  https://www.medoc-atlantique.com/14-communes-1001-possibilites/vacances-a-lacanau/

Surfing Lacanau on you know what! https://www.lacanausurfinfo.com/

My fav webpage on beaches Plages TV on Lacanau beaches: https://en.plages.tv/seaside-resorts/lacanau-33680

This is it wonderful Lacanau area, many nice memories of family vacations there that will endure for life and hoping you can try them too and enjoy them as we did and will again, eventually. Again, hope you enjoy this post on Lacanau Océan in the Médoc !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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