Hi

I am going to Cap Ferret for 6 days in June. I'm looking for a relaxed holiday with nice food/wine, good local atmosphere and nice beaches. I have reserved La Maison du Bassin in Cap Ferret. Has anyone been to Cap Ferret, who could tell me what it is like? I have been to Ile de re, would Cap ferret be similar?

We would also like to spend two nights in the nearby region (within 1-2 hours) where we can rent bikes and do some wine tasting.... Anyone know a good place to go? Is St Emilion nice or is it very commercialised?

Thanks for your help with this!

Cap FerrAt is a lovely peninsula just a bit east of Nice. It's filled with elegant houses on beautiful estates and is a great place to spend some time relaxing. But in general it's an expensive place.

The only St. Emilion I know of is not at all near St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat; however; it's up near Bordeaux, on the Atlantic coast.

I just realized that you're talking about a totally different Cap Ferret--sorry. Just ignore my previous posting. My eyes are crossed from doing income taxes!

Hi Claire,

I was in Cap Ferret a few years ago. I was actually invited by a friend in Arcachon to go oyster fishing.

Cap Ferret is somewhat similar to Île de Ré. Nice summer houses, good beaches and restaurants. You should enjoy your stay there. If you have good weather, six day will be fine. Otherwise, it might be too long.

I was also in St-Émilion. This lovely small town is all about wine. Vineyards everywhere. A visit to the Maison des Vins is a must. Cycling in this area would be quite enjoyable.

I hope this helps.

Ginny

Hi Claire,

Just want to add that Cap Ferret is a much smaller place than Île de Ré. Cap Ferret has a population of about 6,500 vs. 15,000 for Île de Ré.

Ginny

I'm so ignorant! I thought this was going to be a thread about weasels in your hair

Oysters! Beaches. Cannelles.

Six days on Cap Ferret sounds about four or five days too long to me, although I do like this area. It's not really at all like Ile de Ré - the architecture, the landscape, the beaches, everything's different. It's basically a beach suburb of Bordeaux, and like Arcachon has some nice residential areas, a lot of good oyster shacks, and some sand and beach areas. There's a Petit Train that tootles around the dunes all day -cute for about 5 minutes. The oysters are superb.

Arcachon is worth a visit - there are some nice shops there, and the ice cream stand on the boardwalk does serve some of the best sorbets I've had in France. The Dune de Pylat also makes a good daytrip, though it's mobbed in summertime.

St-Emilion, while far from my favorite town (because it IS quite commercialized), it's pretty and is certainly a magnet for wine connoisseurs and rightly so. The monolithic church there is well worth a visit, as is a trip to Restaurant Francis Goullée for some amazing local food and a lot of gossip among vintners. The area would definitely be great for biking, but if you were planning to GET to St-Emilion on a bike, be forewarned that the drive out of Bordeaux is downright ugly for quite a few kilometers.