During your camping holiday in the Arcachon basin, discover Audenge, a small oyster-farming port nestled between Biganos and Lanton in the Pays de Buch region. If you’re wondering what to do in Audenge, here are a few ideas!
Audenge oyster port
15 km from our campsite, the port of Audenge is a typical harbor of the Bassin d’Arcachon, with its colorful traditional huts where pinasses are moored. You can sit out on the waterside terrace and feast on Bassin d’Arcachon oysters, or head for the Cabane Bleue, the cradle of local art. The Cabane Bleue serves as a showroom for painters, sculptors and other artisans, who exhibit their work throughout the year.
Each hut has its own story! With the story of “Jeannot”, an oyster farmer and fisherman of yesteryear, visitors discover a collection of old tools that brings back a whole part of the Bassin’s history.
Audenge is also a charming stopover for yachtsmen looking for a peaceful haven to drop anchor. The marina – or marinas, as there are two of them – accommodates some 300 moorings on either side of the oyster port.
A must: the Certes-et-Graveyron estate
Take advantage of your camping vacation near Audenge to discover the Certes-et-Graveyron estate, Europe’s largest dyked marshland. Located on the migratory route of birds, this 530-hectare natural area between land and sea alternates wild landscapes, ponds, moors, reedbeds, salt meadows and wet meadows… Two open-access trails (5 or 15 km) enable you to observe a large number of birds, including herons, cormorants, white spoonbills, egrets, white-mirrored blue throats… To prepare for your visit, take a look at the program of activities offered by the Conservatoire du Littoral.
Along the way, stop off at Château de Certes, one of the few castles on the Bay of Arcachon. Built in the 18th century by the Marquis de Civrac, it was rebuilt around 1850 by Ernest Valeton de Boissière, who transformed the entire Certes estate into a flourishing fish farm.
Halfway along the Certes trail, linger at the Pointe de Branne for an unparalleled view of the Bay of Arcachon. And if you’d like to take a different look at the Domaines de Certes-Graveyron, the campsite recommends a canoe trip from the port of Cassy!
Finally, if you feel like taking a dip or picnicking on the sand in the shade of the tamarisk trees, head for the wild Graveyron beach, Audenge’s only beach.
Did you know?
France’s only medicinal leech farm is located in the heart of the Audenge ponds! Renowned for their anticoagulant properties, leeches have existed here since the 19th century. Today, they are exported all over the world! Europe’s largest seawater pool is also… in Audenge, at the end of the oyster port! It’s the only place on the Arcachon basin where you can swim when the tide is out.
Favourites from your campsite near Audenge :
- Discover Audengeois heritage: Saint Paul’s church, the old railway station, the wash-house…
- Introduce your children to “puddle fishing”, a method of fishing with a landing net on the banks of the Mesple pond.
- Admire the pretty 19th-century villas of Taussat-les-Bains, including the former home of Toulouse Lautrec, which borders the beach.
- Watch a demonstration of gemmage (resin harvesting) in the Audenge forest, which extends over 1800 hectares in the heart of the Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park.