Cap Ferret Oyster Cabins

What it is

Along the bay shore of the Cap Ferret peninsula there is a string of small oyster-farming villages: Claouey, Le Four, Les Jacquets, Petit and Grand Piquey, Piraillan, Le Canon, L'Herbe and La Vigne, all the way to the tip. They were born between 1880 and 1890, when oyster farming took off in the bay and the oyster farmers of La Teste, Gujan and Arès built jetties and cabins on these beaches; some ended up as homes. Today they are narrow streets of wooden cabins beside the water, and almost every one has at least one tasting cabin: a dozen oysters, bread, butter and a glass of dry white wine, looking out over the water and, in some, to the Dune du Pilat on the other side.

Allow an hour and a half to eat unhurried and stroll round the village.

How a tasting cabin works

The cabin belongs to the oyster farmer: it is not a restaurant. They serve what the house produces, mostly raw oysters by the dozen, sometimes with pâté, the way they are eaten in the bay, with bread and butter and white wine. You order at the counter or the table and eat on the terrace over the sand or the water. In season, arrive early or ask whether they take bookings. Outside summer, many cabins open only at weekends.

Village by village

• Le Canon: a fishing village with the Dune du Pilat in the background, across the bay. It celebrates its Fête de la Mer around 15 August.
• L'Herbe: the most photographed, with its colourful wooden cabins and the chapel of the Villa Algérienne.
• Piraillan: an oyster port with natural holding tanks. Here is La Cabane 57, at 40 rue du Littoral, the cabin of the oyster farmer Sylvie Latrille and her family: one of the few that are covered and heated, with oyster workshops from 1 July to 31 August. Confirm the hours out of season.
• Petit and Grand Piquey, Les Jacquets and Le Four: further north, quieter.

Getting there

• By boat: the most relaxed way. The UBA shuttle crosses from the jetée Thiers in Arcachon to the jetée Bélisaire in Cap Ferret in about 30 minutes, all year. From Bélisaire you continue on foot or by bike to the southern villages; the Île aux Oiseaux trip also boards at Le Canon.
• By bike: the peninsula is on the bike loop around the bay. Take your bike on the boat (unloaded, up to 25 kg) and ride through the villages on the cycle path.
• By car: via the D106 from Bordeaux, the only road down the peninsula. In July and August it gets jammed; go early or by boat.

When to go

From April to September most cabins open daily; in July and August you need to arrive early. In September and October many are still open, the water is warm and there is less traffic. In winter, many open only at weekends: call first.

The authorities can suspend sales of oysters from the bay for health reasons, as happened in the winter of 2023-2024. If that happens, the cabins close or serve only other products: check the Gironde prefecture's news before going in winter.

With children

The terraces over the water appeal to children, though not always the oysters. Ask what else the cabin serves or bring something for them. Keep an eye on little ones on the jetties.