T’s month-to-month journey sequence, Flocking To, highlights locations you would possibly have already got in your want checklist, sharing ideas from frequent guests and locals alike. Join right here to search out us in your inbox as soon as a month, and to obtain our weekly T Listing publication. Have a query? You may all the time attain us at tlist@nytimes.com.
A sandy, 15-mile spit that reaches throughout Arcachon Bay like a protecting arm, Lège-Cap Ferret, on France’s western coast, is that nation’s reply to New York’s Montauk, albeit dialed again a decade or two. Cap Ferret — to not be confused with Cap Ferrat, the glitzy, southeastern French peninsula with nearly the identical title — is a 30-minute ferry experience from the seaside city of Arcachon and encompasses a diverse, opposite, panorama: oyster farms on the tranquil lagoon, or bassin facet, and a broad surf seaside on the Atlantic facet (“When there are waves, they’re gigantic,” says the designer and architect Philippe Starck), which has attracted Parisians because the Nineteen Fifties.
The previous 15 years introduced an inflow of much more bourgeois-bohemian guests — locals blame the 2010 film “Little White Lies,” written and directed by Guillaume Canet and starring Marion Cotillard, together with the high-speed practice that lower the journey time from Paris to Bordeaux, roughly 45 miles from Cap Ferret, to simply over two hours in 2017. But the peninsula has managed, for essentially the most half, to stay low-key.
Resorts are of the charming fairly than luxurious selection, whereas bicycles, classic Citroëns and Mini Mokes outnumber Vary Rovers and sports activities vehicles. And oyster cabanes, providing shellfish (an estimated 60 % of the oysters consumed in France derive from the Arcachon Bay), white wine and never a lot else, function the native canteens.
Throughout the lagoon is Pyla-sur-Mer, a genteel village that’s house to the Philippe Starck-designed inns La Co(o)rniche and Resort Ha(a)ïtza and Europe’s tallest sand dune, the hulking Dune du Pilat, which rises greater than 300 ft and makes for a difficult climb. Elegant Arcachon can also be value a go to for its markets and intriguing Ville d’Hiver, an enclave of ornate villas constructed within the nineteenth century for rich residents convalescing throughout Europe’s tuberculosis epidemic. No matter you do, depart time to discover the dune-backed la Plage de l’Horizon on Cap Ferret’s Atlantic facet. “It’s one of many final locations in France the place you will be alone on a seaside in the midst of summer season,” says the artist and dressmaker Marguerite Bartherotte. Right here, Bartherotte, Starck and two different locals share a few of their favourite spots.
The Insiders
The artist and dressmaker Marguerite Bartherotte grew up in Cap Ferret. She’s the co-founder and inventive director of the label G. Kero, which has a boutique in Cap Ferret and in Paris.
Farid Ben Ahmed is the supervisor of the Moroccan homewares retailer Etincelles in Cap Ferret and splits time between Bordeaux and Marrakesh.
The designer Sarah Poniatowski is the founding father of the homewares and clothes model Maison Sarah Lavoine. She lives largely in Paris however has a house in Cap Ferret and has vacationed within the space since she was a toddler.
The designer and architect Philippe Starck is predicated in Portugal and has a house in Cap Ferret. He designed each the La Co(o)rniche and Ha(a)ïtza inns in Pyla-sur-Mer, throughout the bay from the peninsula, and La Pâtisserie de ma Fille, which opened in Arcachon final yr. He’s presently constructing a small resort in Cap Ferret.
Illustrations by Richard Pedaline
“Hôtel des Pins is a captivating throwback to the Nineteen Thirties in a tranquil location on the bassin facet. It began life as a theater and was become a resort by a former Bordeaux footballer in 1999. There are 13 rooms, a restaurant and a terrace.” (Rooms from about $100 an evening.) — Marguerite Bartherotte
“Hôtel des Dunes was the primary resort to open in Cap Ferret, in 1969, and it reopened final yr after a whole restoration. It’s within the sand dunes, a [short] stroll from the ocean, and has a surfy vibe. The 13 rooms are easy and retro, with tiled headboards, Bakelite telephones and striped deck chairs on the terraces.” (Rooms from about $185 an evening.) — Sarah Poniatowski
“I’ve been going to La Maison du Bassin for nearly three a long time. I’ve fantastic recollections of a birthday shock my spouse as soon as organized for me there: It was throughout a storm, so there was no warmth or electrical energy, solely candles (Rooms from about $170 an evening). I additionally suggest renting a cottage via Sandra and Jérôme Cazaubon at Agence immobilière de la Presqu’île — it’s one of the best ways to expertise genuine native life: strolling to the market, consuming on the oyster cabanas on the water and renting a bicycle to go to the ocean facet of the seaside” (Leases from about $1,720 per week in July.) — Philippe Starck
“The meals at La Mayzou is tremendous good — it’s run by a younger chef named Juliette Lacroix-Wasover and the dishes, like oysters from the bassin with ginger sauce, are influenced by her travels in Indonesia [and elsewhere]. The normal oyster degustation [tasting] in Cap Ferret can get a bit same-y, so it’s good to have one thing totally different; the atmosphere is cool, and it’s very good out of season, too. I take my children to Sail Fish Café for a late, informal lunch after I don’t need to prepare dinner. It serves nice burgers and wholesome meals and is open all day.” — S.P.
“It’s a pleasure to go to Huîtres Maleyran, a brand new oyster cabane proper on the bay. I take my oysters with lemon juice and I carry my very own lemons, one for every degustation, as a result of I’m very demanding and use quite a lot of lemon. I all the time order the Don Juan cocktail at Lou Bar, the cocktail bar at La Mayzou restaurant.” — M.B.
“Chez Hortense, [a seafood restaurant] overlooking the bay, is a should: It’s an actual Cap Ferret establishment that’s been handed down from era to era. E book a desk effectively prematurely and order the home particular, the garlicky mussels. And don’t miss the Dunes Blanches choux pastries crammed with cream at Chez Pascal Pains et Dunes Blanches — they’re a delight.” — Farid Ben Ahmed
“Have oysters at La Cabane d’Hortense, the sister restaurant of Chez Hortense — it’s a traditional — or at Les Parcs de l’Impératrice, which is managed by my pal Joël Dupuch: He embodies the delicate humor of the oysterman. I additionally like the nice and cozy welcome and beneficiant menus at Le Bouchon du Ferret for lunch and dinner at any time of the yr — I all the time order the tuna pâté. If I’m entertaining at house in Cap Ferret, I like to prepare dinner an oyster omelet. Simply add a number of oysters on the finish, heat them a bit after which serve. My pals have been shocked at first however now they like it.” — P.S.
Store
“I purchase summer season fruits — raspberries, cherries, melons, strawberries — from Chez Cocotte out there. It’s run by a really humorous, big-hearted lady who offers the youngsters bonbons.” — M.B.
“I usually make an enormous seafood lunch for my kids and their pals in the summertime, with langoustines or no matter fish I discover in Cap Ferret’s superb market. It’s on every single day [in summer] and I’m going round 8 a.m., earlier than it will get crowded. Day.Co has a terrific collection of homewares manufacturers — together with quite a lot of my very own merchandise — in addition to block-printed tablecloths and napkins that the proprietor has made in India, candles and a really good assortment of tableware.” — S.P.
“Canelés are little desserts flavored with rum and vanilla that originated in Bordeaux — Frédélian is essentially the most well-known pâtisserie in Cap Ferret and the very best place to get them.” — S.P.
“I purchase crusing gear at [the Grand Piquey location of the store] Comptoir de la Mer— I like to recommend the marine blue captain’s cap: It’s waterproof and has been refined over time to work to perfection at sea. I discover unique perfumes, like Me Gustas by my lifelong pal Jacques Zolty, at Jane de Boy. My spouse and daughter love the boutique’s laid-back, rock ’n’ roll vogue and the recommendation the proprietor, Marie, offers them.” — P.S.
“Lease a pinasse, a conventional picket boat, and sail to the Banc d’Arguin, an enormous sandbank in the midst of the bay, in entrance of the Dune du Pilat. It’s essentially the most stunning place on this planet: At low tide you assume you’re within the Maldives, there’s superb chook life and you may be alone even on July 14 [Bastille Day]. We spend all afternoon there, picnicking and enjoying pétanque till sundown.” — S.P.
“There are many secret seaside spots on the Atlantic Ocean facet. Park your automotive anyplace on Avenue de Bordeaux Cap Ferret and stroll via the forest to infinite kilometers of white sand.” — M.B.
“Take a ship to the Cabanes Tchanquées, subsequent to the Île aux Oiseaux (Fowl Island). These cabins on stilts, the primary of which was inbuilt 1883 [then rebuilt in the 1940s], have been utilized by oyster farmers to survey the beds at excessive or low tide — they’re an incredible sight.” — F.B.A.
“When I’ve a little bit of free time, I do what everybody else does on the bassin: I take a ship with some good pals, white wine and some oysters and we chat till it will get darkish. The actual deal with is the native expertise for dialog. The oystermen’s humorousness is sharp, artistic and contagious. I additionally take pleasure in bicycling via the villages or the forest. I want I might surf: My daughter Justice does, and it’s one in all her favourite spots to do it. Alex école de surf is the place to study.” — P.S.
Sensible Issues
“Ensure you reserve the taxi boat from Arcachon to Cap Ferret prematurely — it takes [around] half-hour and it’s one of the best ways to get to the peninsula since there’s only one tiny highway, which might take ages.” — S.P.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
