Our Karanja safely moored in Fontet on the Canal de Garonne, it was time to  see something of the west coast. The resort town of Arcachon is one of the closest Atlantic coastal spots from here, and a favourite holiday spot for the French.

According to podcaster Hugo on innerfrench.com (my latest addiction), French holidaymakers can be divided into two groups: those who flock to the Med (the Côte D’Azur, Sainte-Tropez), and those – many of them Parisian – who prefer the Atlantic coast. The drive from Frontet can take as little as 90 minutes by motorway, but Roy instructed the Garmin to avoid all such conveniences and to take the back-roads instead. Sometimes we hurtled along narrow lanes with rives dangereuses (dangerous banks) signs, or facing awkward situations like the lorry and tractor scenario below. Mostly, though, the roads were fine.

And it is lovely driving through the quiet villages and wine-lands of Bordeaux, where the fruit is starting to swell in the summer heat.

Lunch Lunch was at the first place we could see the sea: Le Restaurant du Port, Rue de Port Ostréicole in La Teste-de-Buch, about 20 minutes from the town of Arcachon. We had the menu du jour (€19): fish tartare on a grenadilla sauce, then pan-seared fish and veggies for me (being good) and a far yummier pork dish for Roy, sticky and succulent.

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About Arcachon Arcachon, on the Côte d’Argent, is located on a big, sheltered bay – the Bassin d’Arcachon – and is popular for its miles of white sandy beaches and the oysters farmed there. I wasted no time getting to the beach for some sand, sun and sea – my first dip in the Atlantic Ocean since I can remember. Then I joined Roy for a panaché (shandy) at one of the string of touristy beachfront restaurants.

In the early 19th century, Arcachon was just a fishing village until some entrepreneurs started developing it as a health and convalescence getaway for wealthy people from Bordeaux and, later, Paris. My friend Anne, who lives on a boat called Hodie in Moissac port and is from this area, remembers childhood holidays there with her family. Each morning, the main square is crammed with vendors selling a lot of fairly upmarket stuff – stuff  you can actually imagine yourself buying if you were in a spending mood and your cupboards weren’t already full.

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But here’s the best thing about the market – the Oyster Bar.

Dinner in Arcachon Neither of us exactly hungry after our big lunch at the Restaurant du Port, we turned left along the Boulevard de la Plage and within minutes stumbled on this great pedestrianised road – Rue Marechal de Lattre de Tassigny – full of boutiques, bars and restaurants.

(How do you like this special photo setting on my new Canon? It’s for a night scene, hand-held, and of course no flash.) After a drink at Alter Ego bar, we had healthy salads (about €15 each) at Bistro’chon, next to an Essex family comprising ghastly mother, spoilt teenage girls and a father who literally did not venture a word in 45 minutes. He’s given up, said Roy. At the end of this road is a lift that takes you up to Parc Mauresque.

Accommodation At 252 Boulevard de la Plage, Chambres Arc en Ciel couldn’t be better located. You’re only two minutes away from  Thiers pier and the main beach, yet set back a bit from the busy road. Unfortunately, after parking in the underground city centre car park (maximum payment €28.80 for 24 hours), we had a half-hour of anxiety, pacing and repeated phone calls on the doorstep of the B&B. Eventually, our host Christiane Mouls was roused from her nap and let us in. She apologised that she hadn’t seen the message from expedia.com, where I’d made the booking only the previous night, and so wasn’t expecting us. She’s such a nice woman, and so interesting, that I soon forgave her. Tour guide, actor, automatic writing practitioner, photographer – she is all those and more. The two ground-floor bedrooms share a  common living area, but as the other room wasn’t taken, it was all ours ( for €160 minus a 10 percent discount for joining Expedia.com).

Beach Walk In the morning, our host Christiane was doing one of her twice-weekly guided beach walks that leave from Thiers Place, near Thiers Pier. On other days, she does one to the Ville d’Hiver, where you can see most of the Belle Epoque houses*  (pictured further below) that the town is famous for. All Christiane’s guests are welcome to join her tours free of charge, so I did. The ten others were all French tourists.

Ville d’Hiver If you carry on walking through Parc Mauresque, you find yourself in the fascinating Ville D’Hiver district and its  late 19th-century architecture.