Dispatch From Cap Ferret

For me, the allure of Cap Ferret started well over 20 years ago. A very discerning woman I knew used to talk about it all the time back when our kids were in the same play group. It sounded like a dream: a narrow peninsula an hour southwest of Bordeaux, with pine forests, sand dunes, oyster shacks and charming villages. At its northernmost end (the village of Lège) it spans 10 kilometers across, and at its narrowest in the south (the village of Cap Ferret), it’s less than a kilometer between the Atlantic Ocean and Arcachon Bay. After we’d bought our house an hour north of Bordeaux in the Médoc, one of our local friends—who has a house there and spent every summer there since childhood—invited us. It’s just a 1.5-hour drive from our place, and a real world away. 

Cap Ferret is such a picture-perfect relaxed vacationland. It doesn’t have any see-and-be-seen pressure—the only lines are for ice cream, and most people are barefoot. There’s a real caught-in-time feeling: many of the people who own homes here decamp for the whole summer, and most of them, as well as visitors, abandon their cars once they arrive and get around on bikes. (That is, unless you have a vintage Mehari, Citroen, or Land Rover Defender—those take center stage here.) It’s also the kind of place where you go to the same coffee shop every day, and by day three they know your order and your name. There are many reasons I’ve been won over by this magical cape, but one image stands out: on our recent trip, we saw these two young boys who’d set up a little “stand,” which was actually just a beach towel with shells they’d painted with scenes from Cap Ferret and were selling two euros a piece, and I was completely smitten. 

People refer to this entire area as Cap Ferret (don’t confuse it with Cap Ferrat, which is in the south of France and a very different vibe!), but it contains 10 villages, all with very distinctive vibes and offerings. If you’re coming by car, there’s only one way to enter, from the north (this is why the area was completely evacuated for 13 days during the awful fires in late July, which were just north of the peninsula—rest assured it’s all fine now). Most people rent a car at the Bordeaux airport or train station, but you could also take a bus—it’s very well connected—or take the train to Arcachon, and then the Arcachon to Cap Ferret ferry.

We stayed in the village of Cap Ferret, the southernmost town. It’s the area I’d recommend to any first timers: there’s a daily market, Marché du Cap Ferret, with gorgeous food stalls inside and beautiful things—from jewelry to espadrilles to fishermen jackets—on the outside, and it’s the village on this sleepy cape with the most action. Once there, you’ll probably park your car and ride bikes the rest of the time. L’Herbe is a beautiful village about 10 minutes’ drive from Cap Ferret—Hotel de la Plage is located here, and there’s a sweet beach, as well as many little oyster shacks that are perfect for an easy lunch. Meander in and out of the alleys and definitely have your camera ready—it’s one of the most picturesque spots on the peninsula. The town of Le Canon is a bit further north, and is very sweet. If you want to be a bit more isolated and away from the center of activity, this would be where I’d look for a rental—it’s about 15 minutes’ drive from the center of Cap Ferret.