The Bay of Arcachon  :

 The Bay of Arcachon is a part of the country of Buch. It is situated in the heart of Landes of Gascony, halfway Capbreton and the Point of Grave.
The pond is of triangular shape, bounded by more than 80 km of flat coast or woody dunaires. Unlike the big lakes of Landes (Hourtin, Lacanau, Cazaux, Parentis) it is widely opened on the bay of Gascony and the tide goes in and goes back twice a day. That pond is partially  isolated by the ocean by a dunaire cordon including in particular Cap Ferret, dune of Pilat and bench of Arguin.
The opening of the Atlantic Ocean is made by a only acces, "master keys", a set of channels of three km wide allowing the trafic of the water between the pond and the ocean. Mobile sandbanks transported by sea currents modify ceaselessly the plan. The strength of the currents of stream and ebb make delicate the crossings of these master keys, especially in the tides of big coefficients. These master keys, thus, and sandbanks evolve in time particularly during strong storms but also more simply and inexorably under the influence of tides (approximately 370 million cubic meters of water are exchanged between the pond and the ocean every day, taking the sand being on the edges of master keys) and of the sea current (following the North coast southward, it transports approximately 600 000 cubic meters of sand a year). These factors return particularly dangerous passes for the navigation; fatal accidents of experimented sailors are regularly noticed. Master keys are in fact two parallel channels (the south Pass and the north Pass) the plan of which moves in the direction of the southeast (of Cap-Ferret towards the dune of Pilat). When the pass most in the reached South the beach at feet of the dune, it narrows then vanishes  while a new pass forms northward, towards the Course, so transforming the former "north Pass" into a new "south Pass". The beaconing (buoys of navigation) ceaselessly corrected.

 A VISIT SETS ITSELF :

 If the biggest attentiveness is acceptable on oceanes beaches, families can go calmly on those of the Pond, where the areas of fine sand slope towards the bank.
In low tide, a multitude of ponds of bathing welcomes the amateurs. The bathing is watched, waters are of quality, because filtered daily in every rising tide.

 The Bench of Arguin :

 Between the point of the Cap Ferret and the Dune of Pilat, the Bench of Arguin is one of the most remarkable sandbanks of the Girondist coast. The vacationers like going to it as we investigate an island, the oyster farmers placed parks there and migratory birds colonize him(it) all year round, according to the seasons. The gravelot, the caugek tern, the huîtrier magpie, the young woodcock are within reach binoccular !!

Iit's an island in the natural treasures, chosen as stage by terns, teals, redshanks and other migratory sorts before their departure towards the warm zones of the globe. Its Hut Tchanquées, its oyster parks, its going and coming boats, show that birds are not the only extras on this strip of this land witch preserve all its mysteries. ..

 Cap Ferret :

A small part of paradise in the point of the peninsula. The wind, the waves, the sun united their strengths to compose this territory, where develops an ecosystem offered to the curious through a fitted out path, the "Alphabet primer of dunes ". Having contemplated the Dune of Pilat, come to drink nature in this sensitive natural space.
Cross : Go through on foot the GR of Country called "Tour of the Bay of Arcachon ( TBA) " which unwinds its ribbon, on 84 km, of Arcachon in the Dune of Pilat. It  connects all the cities and the villages of the Pond, the exceptional natural sites and takes the existing hiking trails, namely the path of the Coast, the way of Santiago de Compostela and the oyster ports...Or bestride your cycle, mode of practical, friendly, non-polluting movement and reassuring the cycle is a real alternative means of transportation. He is a king on the Bay of Arcachon which has for a long time a network of cycle tracks deserving of this name; it is true that the discovery of the surrounding sites is more considerable in bicycle. Discover the possibilities of sports hikes(rides) and the amateur strolls... Or still (in each the element !) on the water, all the boats, of the pinnace in the canoeing, are accessible (approachable) to you. In the direction of the “Ile aux oiseaux” (island of birds), along the peninsula, or still on the Delta of Leyre, or still on the island of Malprat, these modes of boat allow you to reach with difficulty accessible sites by boat.
Elements of the local heritage, tchanquées huts situated in the southeast of the" Ile aux oiseaux" (island of birds), both huts planted in the middle of waters make the fame of the Pond, watching oysterbeds.
In 2008, the municipality of Tests it of Buch restored the hut in the white sectors. (Boat trip of the Tour of the “Ile aux oiseaux”).

 The Oister House :

Endowed with a modern and interactive scenography, this oyster museum invites you to discover, to observe and to understand the work of the oyster farmer, the story of the oyster, its places and its techniques.

 THE OYSTER FARMING :

The oyster farming developed in the XIXth century with the clarification of the collection of naissain on limed tile.
Initially, the gravette, the flat oyster of Arcachon was the common variety of the pond.
In 1920, this sort was decimated then quickly replaced by the "Portuguese" oyster which undergoes in his turn fatal one epizootic disease in 1970.
It was then a very difficult period for the local oyster farming. An attempt of presence of a "Japanese" oyster succeeds very fortunately, giving profits more than satisfactory. 
The Bay of Arcachon produces approximately 18 000 T a year on about 1 800 ha. The naissain collected on the spot feeds numerous producing regions. 
The Bay of Arcachon is the biggest center oyster European naisseur. The majority of oysters raised in France arise from the pond. The sweetness and the quality of its waters, the wealth of its capital and the leniency of the climate indeed offer ideal conditions for the reproduction of the hollow oysters.
Every year, more than 3 billion young oysters are sent towards the oyster parks of Brittany, Normandy, Charente and the Mediterranean Sea.
On the Bay of Arcachon, four vintage wines exist corresponding to their geographical situations of breeding in the pond. This situation influences the taste of the oysters which is a shell, a mollusk, the food (plankton of which) is directly taken in its natural environment: the oysters of the bench of Arguin have a sweet, milky and marine flavour. The oysters of the" Ile aux oiseaux "offer a powerful character with plant and mineral aromas. The oysters of Cap-Ferret have delicate aromas of fresh vegetables and citrus fruits. The oysters of the Big Bench have flavours of white fruits and burnedout hazelnuts.

 WITHOUT FORGETTING THE CITY :

The winter city is remarkable set vast and luxurious  villas flooded in a case of greenery. Visit audio-guided on foot: all year, a playful and original discovery of the history of Arcachon and the winter city.