Cap Ferret, and no, I don’t mean Ferrat, is a sublime sandy peninsula sandwiched between the calm, oyster-rich Arcachon Bay on the southwest corner of France and the dramatic windswept Atlantic Ocean. The sandy spit about an hour’s drive from Bordeaux  sits amidst pine trees, endless gorgeous beaches that an Australian friend said reminded her of home, ubiquitous bike trails and the best low-key, understated, chic Parisian people-watching outside of Paris. The first time we cycled to mission control, namely the bustling daily market where everything from espadrilles to escargot is for sale, I was agog at the clientele. BCBG big time.

If you’re into flash and Ferraris, Cap Ferret is best forgotten. But if Martha’s Vineyard injected with bucket loads of innate  French style appeals then Cap Ferret is best remembered. Screen siren Marion Cotillard summers here. Need I say more? Below is Cotillard in recent film “Les Petits Mouchoirs” which was filmed in Cap Ferret with her hunky director, actor boyfriend Guillaume Canet.

Cap Ferret is ideal for active people. Activities include sailing on the bay, kite sailing off the dunes, picnicking on secluded sandbars and going for invigorating walks along constantly changing coastlines. Sometimes the tide is in. 

And sometimes the tide is out.

But it’s always pretty. My friends and I below have just scaled Europe’s highest dune,  Dune de Pilat.

Later we walked along a deserted sandbar.

The nature and people aren’t all that’s beautiful. The simple wooden houses with their wraparound terraces are equally as arresting.  This one belongs to French designer Phillipe Starck.

And the seafood is delicious. Below is a typical first course at lunch- fresh oysters washed down with a  chilled glass of white Bordeaux.

Take me back.

September, 2014

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