How to go to Cap Ferret

Cap Ferret is a wonderful sandy peninsula facing Arcachon city, it forms the west part of the Arcachon bay ou Bassin d’Arcachon, situated at the West of Bordeaux city in the South West of France

You can reach this beautiful trendy sandy peninsula by many ways :

By plane

Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport is located at approximatively 50kms from the Peninsula.

From Paris

There are many interior flights from Paris « Charles De Gaulle » or « Orly » Airports to Bordeaux airport. Just check Google Flights for that

From UK, Europe and other places in the world

There are many flights from UK and Europe to Bordeaux Airport : see the destinations of Bordeaux airport and check if a city in your neighborood gives you the opportunity to have a flight to Bordeaux

Once in Bordeaux airport

We suggest you to rent a car in the Bordeaux airport when you arrive and follow our indications in the « by car » section

By train

Since 2017, the speed train TGV takes only two hours to go from Paris to Bordeaux. Once in Bordeaux station you can either :

• Take another train to Arcachon and then make a 10 minutes walk from Arcachon station to jetty Thiers to reach Cap Ferret by boat with the Arcachon Boat Union (UBA in french) : you just have to buy your tickets at the beginning of the jetty, it costs approxymatively 10€/pax. More informations here
• rent a car and follow our instructions « by car« 
• take the bus, line 601. The journey time is approximately One and a half to two hours. The cost is approxymatively 3€/pax. You can download the timetable on the website, clicking on « Horaires » and chose 601

By car

If you have datas availaible on your phone and want to be guided by Google maps,

1. check the exact place of our marker,
2. click on the Google icon in the down-left position of the map. You will be redirected to your GMaps app,
3. make a long click on the place you noticed in our map and chose to be guided

From Paris

The journey is long, about 6-7 hours, heading south to West Bordeaux rocade and taking the Cap Ferret way out on the Bordeaux Rocade

From Bordeaux

The journey will take approximatively one hour and a half, going straight to the West.

Avoid traffic jam in cap Ferret

The Cap Ferret is for Bordeaux like Cape Cod for Boston : the « Bordelais » people enjoy to spend the week end and holidays there, especially from spring to autumn.

You should avoid going to Cap Ferret

• On Friday nights / saturday and sunday from 10AM to 1 PM especially if the weather forecast is sunny, from april to october
• Everyday between 10AM to 1PM, in July and August, during summer holidays

Avoid leaving Cap Ferret

• Sundays after 4 PM especially if the Week End was sunny, from april to october
• Everyday after 4 PM, in July and August, during summer holidays

Once you arrived…

Visit the best places to see in Cap Ferret

The best places to see in Cap Ferret

Cap Ferret is a long (more than 20 kilometers) peninsula composed of ten beautiful villages, going from Lege in the North to Cap Ferret village in the South

What are the best places to see on the peninsula?

We offer you a suggestion of ten places to see.

1. The head of the peninsula, « La Pointe »
2. Le Mimbeau and 44 hectares
3. The cap ferret oyster’s farming village
4. The Lighthouse
5. The Cap Ferret deck Belisaire, go from there by train to
6. L’horizon ocean beach
7. The algerian chapel by the sea
8. L’Herbe oysters farming village
9. Horses Point : « La Pointe aux chevaux »
10. Claouey oyster’s farming village and its restaurants

You can visit them in one day, in this case, we suggest you to head straight south trough the ocean road called « Truc Vert road » to the end of the peninsula and then come back slowly to the beginning of the peninsula, heading north, by the beautiful small villages road : see our detailed itinerary below the map

First of all, fill your tank in Claouey because you won’t find any more gas station, it’s the beginning of the adventure!

Now prepare to discover a raw country and relax, there is no red light anywhere on the peninsula…

Facing the gas station, you can do the currents in the super market.

Then go south and just before you arrive in « Petit Piquey » village, make a right before the road sign « Petit Piquey », heading to « Truc vert », which is the Ocean road (named « Avenue du truc vert »). This quiet forest road is very rarely busy and it will bring you straight to Cap Ferret and « La Pointe », the end of the peninsula, accross the pine forest along the ocean. Feel free to stop in « Le Truc Vert » or « La Garonne » car parks to discover the sandy beaches, a few minutes walk away, with their Atlantic Ocean big waves and admire the surfers.

When you arrive at the stop sign at the end of this small forest road, make a right to « Cap Ferret » and then wait for the « La Pointe » direction and follow it until the end...

You’re done! you can begin your visit of the Cape Ferret : if you have datas avalaible on your phone and want to be guided by Google maps,

1. check the exact place of our marker,
2. click on the Google icon in the down-left position of the map. You will be redirected to your GMaps app,
3. make a long click on the place you noticed in our map and chose to be guided

The head of the peninsula, « La Pointe »

As locals say, there’s an « end of the Earth » feeling on this small sandy beach surrounded by the Ocean and its waves. You will enjoy a tremendous view on the Pyla dune, the highest and biggest dune of Europe

Take your car back and head to

Le Mimbeau and 44 hectares

This place is unique : the sand makes a small peninsula inside the Arcachon bay and at the place where the small peninsula meets the Cap Ferret big one, there are 44 hectares of unspoiled lands with beautiful houses, but also sandy roads. Don’t go there by car but by walk! You just have to park as referred on the map and make a few minutes walk to discover this beautiful place

You can go by walk (or by car) to :

The cap ferret oyster’s farming village

The charming village offers a view on the Mimbeau and the Pyla dune. There are many oysters degustation restaurants here, facing the Mimbeau

Then head to

The Lighthouse

The lighthouse is the symbol of the Cap Ferret don’t miss to climb it and admire the point of view on all the Arcachon bay

Take your car or walk (if you still have legs after the stairs climbing of the lighthouse) to

The Cap Ferret deck Belisaire

The center of the Cap Ferret village is there and it is the departure point to boat excursions to the Arguin bank, Arcachon and Pyla dune. But this is for an entire day trip. You will now go on your trip by train and go from Belisaire by the small train to the ocean beach :

L’horizon ocean beach

After a few minutes trip in the small train, you will arrive at one of the surf beaches of Cap Ferret peninsula

When you are back in Belisaire, take your car and head to l’Herbe village, going through La Vigne village and have a look at its harbour on your right

The algerian chapel by the sea

This is the chapel of the first house built in Cap Ferret, the « Algerian villa », now destroyed (and replaced by an awful building), made by a banker who succeeded in North Africa business, named Leon Lesca. He accepted a parcel of land on the peninsula from Napoleon III and only the chapel remains from the villa.

If you found a car park nearby, you can either have a walk along the sea to go to the next step or take your car and park on the hills above the village because car parking inside the village is impossible. You will then reach the village by stairs. The next map gives you the place where you can park your car

L’Herbe oysters farming village

This is the most charming village of the Cap Ferret peninsula, simply walk through the small streets and feel happy! You can also taste some oysters in many small places

Take your car back and drive a few kilometers through Le Canon, Piraillan and Grand Piquey (feel free to make a right in all thoses villages if you have time!, you will always find the Arcachon bay sea and oysters farming villages) to :

Horses Point : « La Pointe aux chevaux »

Certainly the most beautiful view of the Arcachon bay… relax and admire the stunning point of view! downstairs you see the Petit Piquey beach and in the middle of the Arcachon bay sea, the bird’s island : l' »ile aux oiseaux »

Claouey oyster’s farming village and its restaurants

Starving at the end of your trip or stuck in the traffic jam, make a right when you arrive in Claouey, just after the white christian cross, you will discover a beautiful small oyster’s farming village : there are two restaurants here, facing the sea… but it is a locals’ secret…

We hope you enjoyed this unspoiled and authentical place!

Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment

Have a good journey!!

The map of Cape Ferret and best places to see

Cap Ferret is a wonderful sandy cape facing Arcachon city, on the Arcachon bay. There are ten villages on the peninsula, from Lège in the North to Cap Ferret in the South

You will find on this map the main places to see in Cap Ferret peninsula

To have a suggestion of itinerary and know more about the places listed on this map, go to : « the places to see in Cap Ferret«