Moliets-et-Maâ, between forest and ocean
One of the few places on the Atlantic coast where pine forest, dune and ocean still touch one another. Here is what there is to do, in the order you tend to find it.
A short ride away
- 3.2 km
Moliets beach
A beach open to the Atlantic, lifeguarded in season, with a surf school and exactly the kind of waves you learn on. Reached by boardwalks across the dune.
- 6 km
The Courant d'Huchet
A national nature reserve since 1981. You float down it in a flat-bottomed boat, punted by a boatman: bald cypress, water lilies, herons, European pond turtles.
- on the doorstep
The Landes forest
The largest planted forest in western Europe, sown in the nineteenth century to fix the shifting sands. Dozens of kilometres of flat, shaded cycle paths.
- 2 km
Moliets golf course
An 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones between pines and dunes, regularly ranked among the finest in France.
- 8 km
Lake Léon
Calm, warm water for the youngest, paddleboards, pedal boats and picnics in the shade. The perfect alternative on days of hard westerly wind.
- 25 km
Hossegor and Capbreton
The tidal lake, the Basque-Landes villas, the fishing harbour and the fish auction. Easily a full day out.
Eating in the Landes
Sand-grown asparagus, Adour kiwi, Landes duck and free-range chicken, sheep’s cheese, gâteau basque, Tursan and Chalosse wines, pine-forest honey. The producers are a few kilometres away and the summer markets do the rest: eating local here takes no effort at all.
- Surfing and bodyboarding, schools on the beach
- Cycling on the forest tracks and the Vélodyssée
- Boat trips on the Courant d'Huchet
- 18-hole golf, two kilometres away
- Farmers’ markets, in every village in summer
- Walking in the pine forest and along the coastal path
- Paddleboarding and pedal boats on Lake Léon
- Bayonne, Biarritz and the Basque Country within the hour
Getting here
By car
A63, exit Magescq or Castets, then twenty minutes. Private parking inside the grounds.
By train
Dax station (35 km) or Bayonne (55 km), four hours from Paris by TGV. Car hire available.
By air
Biarritz (60 km), Bordeaux-Mérignac (140 km), San Sebastián (100 km).
Once here
The village is a 600 m walk, the beach a ten-minute ride along the forest cycle paths.
Book L'Atlantide
The house is let by the week in high season, and by the weekend for the rest of the year. Book through whichever platform you prefer, or write to us directly.