Lacanau - out and about
Lacanau
offers a variety of activities and attractions for the holiday
visitor.
Beaches
Surfing is perhaps the most popular pastime
in Lacanau - the town holds World Pro events on a regular
basis. Offshoots of the sport such as kite-surfing
are now also popular. The beach is supervised in July and
August. You can try your hand at surfing or body boarding
under tuition from Lacanau Surf Club,
or Les Dauphins who cater especially for
youngsters (opposite the campsite, on plage Nord). As if there
weren’t enough sports on offer, you can even try land-yachting
on this gloriously wide sandy beach.
If the ocean surf is formidable, there are sandy coves
around the local lakes - ideal for younger
bathers.
Activities
The
Lac de Lacanau, 5 miles long, is a very popular
spot for families. Every watersport imaginable
is available here: swimming, sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing,
canoeing and kayaking, with boats available for hire. To dry
off, you can tour the lake on foot, or by hiring a
bike – 20kms if you want to do the full circuit.
Lacanau-Ocean boasts 110 kms of safe forest cycle
tracks and there are a few options for bike hire in Lacanau,
or how about swapping two wheels for four legs - horse-riding
at Village Cheval.
There is good holiday golf
available at Ardilouse Golf International Lacanau-Ocean
(2x 18 holes) and Baganais Golf School. Check out our Aquitaine Golf
page for more info including the Médoc Golf Pass
pass for this region.
Also close to the golf course you will also
find 16 tennis courts (4x indoor) and 2x
squash courts.
Various
sea therapy treatments are available at the
local Centre de Balnéo Vitalparc.
Supposedly great cures for being run-down, anxious, and heavy-legged.
We’ve yet to establish if it works for the day after
wine tasting. Please let us know if you try this!
Children’s
Tourist Attractions
Bike rental is a nice relaxed way for the
whole family to get to know Lacanau-Ocean early in your visit,
while you consider activities for the week ahead. Lacanau-Ocean
is ideal for junior cyclists (and senior cyclists with kiddie-seats!).
There are miles of flat, safe, tracks through the forests
and around the lakes. Bikes are available to hire throughout
the town, including near the tourist office.
Shopping
There are shops, services and mini-market in the town, as
well as a weekly food market in the summer months. For serious
boutique shopping, head for Bordeaux.
Eating Out
To be quite honest, Lacanau is not a foodie's destination.
The cuisine is mostly standard tourist fare. The exception
that crops up in client feedback is Le Bistrot du
Cochon, close to the sea-front.
| Le
Bistrot du Cochon, Rue Docteur Darrigan
-
"great food, lovely ambience and garden"..."food
& service brilliant - one of the best meals my wife
and I have had in the last few months" |
| Chez
L’Australien, 19 allée Pierre
Ortal - part of the Hôtel-Restaurant Le Marian,
this venue offers both a casual bar-brasserie and a
more formal restaurant (eves). |
| Casa
Lolita, Blvd de la Plage - cosy Spanish bar
serving tapas and other Spanish fare, right on the seafront. |
| Le
Squale, Pl du Génerale de Gaulle - a
cross between a fish market and a self-service restaurant.
Each morning you can watch the fishing nets being emptied
of the fish that will later find its way onto the menu.
Very popular. |
| Le
Taverne de Neptune, Place de l’Europe
- for a good range of food, served in a relaxed atmosphere. |
The above list has been compiled with the help of the Lonely
Planet Guide (South West France), and The Green Guide
(Atlantic Coast).
Nightlife
There are summer discotheques and nightclubs to be enjoyed
plus there's a casino in Lacanau Ocean
near to the Ardilouse golf course.
Arts and
Culture
Maubuisson, on the nearby Lac Hourtin Carcans, houses the
Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires des
Landes – focusing on life in and around the
forest. Here you will learn more about the tradition of the
Médoc area, resin-tapping, and how locals have lived
through time.
There are festivals throughout the year,
most of which have a sports theme!
Nature
Far away from the cars, through the footpaths and bike paths
of the Lacanau forest, The Étang de Cousseau
is a nature reserve bordered on one side by dunes, on the
other side by marshland. Keep your eyes peeled for otters,
tortoises, deer and a range of migratory birds along the 13
kms of trails. You will also find information points about
the many plants, animals and about tapping trees for resin.
Allow half a day, and take plenty of water and mosquito repellent.
Excursions
Châteaux and wine tours...
A good way to take a break from all of this sporting activity
on offer is to head east to the vineyards.
For wine-lovers, the nearby Médoc
region is home to several world-class vineyards including
celebrated appellations such as St-Julien,
Pauillac, Haut-Médoc,
Margaux and Médoc itself. The warm
climate and gravelly soil combine to produce some of the world’s
most sought-after red wines. Naturally there are plenty of
wine-tasting opportunities. To visit the best-known châteaux
such as Lafite Rothschild and Margaux,
you are advised to make a booking in advance.
A bit of pampering...
An
altogether different wine experience can be had at Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa,
in the middle of the Château Smith Haut Lafitte, vineyards,
just south of Bordeaux. The spa offers unique beauty treatments
derived from grand cru grapes of the Graves appellation renowned
for their anti-ageing and micro-circulation improving properties
- in short, visitors apparently come out feeling good!
Visit
the 'great lakes'...
The nearby village of Hourtin, to the north,
is a great base from which to explore the network of lakes,
lagoons and canals – perfect for canoeing. It is also
a popular spot for pleasure boats, thanks to the new marina.
Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans is France's longest
freshwater lake (over 20 kms) and three times the size of
lac de Lacanau. Here you will find a range of sports centres,
notably Maubuisson, Bombannes
and Hourtin-Port. Bombannes offers boating,
tennis, swimming, gymnastics, archery and other games. Hourtin-Port
is a major sailing venue. There is a great
cycle track between the Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans
and the ocean, ideal for finding a private picnic spot in
the woods or your own bit of sandy beach. With the scent of
fresh pine and sea-salt in the air and with hardly a soul
around, this is a most relaxing wilderness!
Alternative
beach destinations...
Try Carcans-Plage and Hourtin-Plage
to the north, or further south, Cap
Ferret.
Mingle with the Parisiens...
Cap Ferret and Arcachon
are favoured sunning spots and the most exclusive venues on
the northern Aquitaine coast. Arcachon is approximately 90
minutes driving distance and has numerous attractions including
the magnificent Dune du Pilat – Europe’s
highest sand dune. Set on the southerly edge of the Bassin
d’Arcachon, the town is perfect for boat trips, seafood,
boutique shopping and a good old-fashioned stroll along the
promenade or the beautiful Winter Town.
City break in Bordeaux...
It's only 30 miles away, and is a good option for
a day-trip, whether it’s boutique shopping, sight-seeing
or culture. Walking around the 18th century old town centre
(Quartier St. Pierre), you can begin to imagine the city’s
commercial and maritime past.
Visit the medieval gems...
In the Pays des Vins east of
Bordeaux - St Emilion, with its 11th century
basilica, is the best known but can be busy; St Macaire
and La Réole are also enjoyable.
For
further tourist information about the local areas beyond Lacanau,
please browse our region guides:
»
Médoc
Bleu
»
Bassin
d'Arcachon
»
Pays
des Vins
Travel
advice
Lastly, here’s a few words of travel advice when you’re
holidaying in Lacanau…the crowds swell in late July
and August and parking can be difficult. Our advice is get
on your bike!
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