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Travel guide
The Landes
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June and September
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Welcome
The Landes, in a few days
A hundred and six kilometres of beach without a cliff or a marina, just dunes, pines and Atlantic surf. The Landes has one of the largest planted forests in Europe, grown in the 19th century over marshland, and a coast that lives by the tides and the swell.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Hossegor and its tidal lake free · half a dayWaves at La Gravière, where top surfers compete each autumn, and a saltwater lake that rises and falls with the tide, ringed by 1930s villas.
- Afternoon · Capbreton and its pier free · about 1 h 30The only port in the Landes, with a fish auction and an 1858 wooden pier, above the Gouf, an underwater canyon thousands of metres deep.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Baya Hôtel & Spa€160 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Vélodyssée through the Landes forest free · a full dayAround 160 km of mostly flat, traffic-free cycle paths under the pines, linking the lakes of Cazaux, Biscarrosse, Léon and Soustons, with regular beach access.
- Afternoon · Courant d'Huchet by boat · 2 to 3 hNine kilometres of river from Lake Léon to the ocean under alders and swamp cypress, travelled in a flat-bottomed boat steered by a local boatman.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel & Spa Le Splendid€130 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Contis lighthouse · about 1 hThe only lighthouse in the Landes, set in the forest 1.5 km inland, with 183 steps up to a view of dunes, pines and Pyrenees.
- Afternoon · Lake Biscarrosse and the Seaplane Museum · 2 to 3 hA 3,500-hectare freshwater lake with calm beaches, where Latécoère seaplanes took off across the Atlantic in the 1930s, a story told in the museum.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Mercedes€130 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Écomusée de Marquèze · half a dayA small train leads to a Landes farming hamlet recreated as it was in 1890, showing how stilt-walking shepherds lived and how resin brought wealth.
- Afternoon · Dax and the Fontaine Chaude free · about 1 h 30A steaming basin where spring water emerges at 64°C in the town square, in France's leading spa town by number of patients.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Pavillon Bleu€140 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €95 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune and September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/landes
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.