- Arcachon
French commune
nomcommune=Arcachon
région=Aquitaine
département=Gironde
arrondissement=Arcachon
canton=Arcachon
insee=33009
cp=33120
maire=Yves Foulon
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=
longitude=-1.169186
latitude=44.65278
alt moy=8 m
alt mini=0
alt maxi=45 m
hectares=756
km²=7.56
sans=11,459
date-sans=1999
dens=1515
date-dens=1999Arcachon is a commune in the
Gironde department in southwesternFrance . It is a popular bathing location on the Atlantic coast 34 miles southwest ofBordeaux in theLandes forest . It has a finebeach , and a mild climate said to be favourable for invalids suffering from pulmonary complaints.Arcachon is known for the "Arcachonnaise", the local name for an
Arcachon villa , which is the architectural style of many of the older houses built there. It is a type of Victorian architecture, and was criticized for generations, but is now considered to be charming and deeply human.The town of Arcachon is only 150 years old. Not long before the 2nd of May 1857, when Emperor
Napoleon III signed its official "birth certificate", it was just a forest of pine trees, oaks and strawberry trees (arbutus), with no road links, and home - mostly when the weather was expected to be warm, and more in wood huts than in real houses - to fewer than 400 people, mostly fishermen and peasants. In earlier years, when some hygienists began to recommend sea bathing, three sea establishments were laid out by some entrepreneurs especially for theBordeaux bourgeoisie and other wealthy people. This was the beginning of a new lifestyle, and some of the locals got the opportunity to claim their independence fromLa Teste-de-Buch , which owned their properties, in order to found a "free" new town, Arcachon.At its southern entrance from the Atlantic ocean,
Arcachon Bay is crowned by Europe's largest sand dune, the Dune de Pyla (or du Pilat), nearly 3 kilometres long, 500 metres wide, reaching 107 metres in height, and moving inland at rate of 5 metres a year.The area is served by
La Teste-de-Buch Airport and theTGV Atlantique .Notable natives and residents
References
*
External links
* [http://www.worldphotolocations.com/location_report.phtml?location_id=1103805153690 Arcachon's Sand Dune - Picture]
* [http://france-for-visitors.com/photo-gallery/south-west/dune-du-pyla.html Aerial view of the Dune du Pyla]
* [http://www.dune-pyla.com/english/welcome/index.php Dune du Pyla site]
* [http://www.api-photo.net Air photography of Arcachon]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.