{"id":2349,"date":"2026-02-11T14:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/the-arcachon-whale-tail-a-curiosity-that-doesnt-go-unnoticed\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:38:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:38:46","slug":"the-arcachon-whale-tail-a-curiosity-that-doesnt-go-unnoticed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/the-arcachon-whale-tail-a-curiosity-that-doesnt-go-unnoticed\/","title":{"rendered":"The Arcachon whale tail: a curiosity that doesn’t go unnoticed!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This summer, go whale hunting in the Bay of Arcachon. No need for a harpoon, since it’s a sculpture. Find out more about the famous whale tail, one of Arcachon’s curiosities! <\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n
\"Sculpture<\/figure>\n\n

The whale tail, Arcachon’s summer icon<\/h2>\n\n

On Arcachon beach, there’s sky, sun, sea and… a whale tail! Since 2011, the emblematic whale tail has been drawing crowds to Arcachon’s seafront. A real attraction! <\/p>\n\n

This giant sculpture, photographed by every tourist, is the unusual work of artist Emmanuel Janssens Casteels. A veritable local star, anchored in the waters of the basin, it heralds the start of the summer season in the seaside town. Its mythical silhouette intrigues tourists and serves as a visual landmark for locals. We tell you all about it!<\/p>\n\n

Where and when can you see the whale’s tail in Arcachon?<\/h2>\n\n

In early spring<\/strong>, this monumental sculpture is installed 300 meters from the shore, between the Thiers and Pierre Lataillade jetties<\/strong>. You can admire it from the central beach<\/strong> or during a boat trip on the Bassin. The cetacean’s dummy tail remains there until autumn. <\/p>\n\n

In winter, the work is removed to be restored <\/strong>and repainted with a new color or a different motif<\/strong>. Every spring, locals and holidaymakers alike look forward to discovering what look it will sport this season: red, blue, green, striped or floral? Every year, it’s a surprise! <\/p>\n\n

The history of the whale: its creator, its impressive size, its sculptural qualities<\/h2>\n\n

Made from polyester resin and stainless steel, the whale tail measures nine metres, five of which are submerged<\/strong> to ensure its stability. Weighing in at three tonnes, it defies the elements and withstands the tides of the Basin. <\/p>\n\n

Its creator, Emmanuel Janssens Casteels<\/strong>, is an artist specializing in life-size reconstructions of present-day and extinct animals and hyperrealistic fossils. The artist’s creations are exhibited in numerous natural history museums, aquariums and zoos around the world. <\/p>\n\n

What is the significance of the whale tail?<\/h2>\n\n

Beyond its playful, photogenic aspect, this sculpture carries a strong message. It symbolizes the intimate link between man and the ocean, while recalling themaritime history of the Bay of Arcachon<\/strong>. It also raises awareness of the fragility of marine ecosystems and the need to preserve them. <\/p>\n\n

An Arcachon getaway from camping Le Ker Helen<\/h3>\n\n

If you haven’t yet seen the whale’s tail, it’s a must for your next stay in Arcachon<\/a>. Located just a few kilometers from the city of four seasons, the 4-star Le Ker Helen campsite<\/strong> is ideally situated for discovering and photographing the impressive sculpture. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summer, go whale hunting in the Bay of Arcachon. No need for a harpoon, since it’s a sculpture. Find out more about the famous whale tail, one of Arcachon’s curiosities! The whale tail, Arcachon’s summer icon On Arcachon beach, there’s sky, sun, sea and… a whale tail! Since 2011, the emblematic whale tail has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-articles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2353,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349\/revisions\/2353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kerhelen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}