Biarritz or Arcachon?
 

We will be spending a week in Perigord and then a long weekend on the Atlantic coast. Which town is preferable, Arcachon or Biarritz?

My answer is through the eyes of a French student we hosted for 3 weeks. Everything was comparred to Biarritz (where his family has a vacation home). We live in SW Florida and nothing we showed him had a possitive reaction. He disliked Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, - etc. His reply was always the same - "I don't like. I prefer Biarritz." He also had a day trip to Miami which included South Beach which I think is great fun - but his answer was the same - "I don't like. I prefer Biarritz." So for what it's worth it seems like Biarritz is THE place. Too bad I won't have time to visit on my next trip to Paris.

Hi there... I was recently in Biarritz/Anglet (in May)... and will admit that it is beautiful. I stayed in Anglet because I was travelling on budget, but I did spend time window shopping, beaching and dining in Biarritz. The reason the teenager from France didn't like Florida is because it is a different kind of coastline. The Basque region (check out San Sebastian Spain if you have time, it's a day trip from Biarritz, and even MORE beautiful, plus the drive itself is INSPIRING!)is marked by rocky cliffs (though the beaches themselves are sandy, for the most part.)Much unlike the character-less coastline of southern FL. <BR>I have never been to Arcachon (actually, I've never heard of it..) <BR> <BR>Anglet is the surfer town right next door to Biarritz.It caters to a younger crowd, while Biarritz is older and monied. Hope that helps.

We actually have been to Arcachon a few years ago on a day trip from Bordeaux. It was lovely and our impression was that it was slighly old fashioned but in best possible sense i.e. much more elegant (although like a faded dowager) than the US beach resorts but not as snooty as say Deauville. We can not help you with Biarritz unfortunately but from what I have heard you can NOT go wrong with either place. Good luck and have a great time.