France 2025 — Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast

A summer out west, at the rhythm of the tides. Bordeaux first, its quaysides and its honey-coloured facades, then the road through the lakes to Lacanau, where we alternated between the long ocean beaches and the nature reserve of the Étang de Cousseau. The Arcachon basin followed, with its stilt huts and its oyster beds.

Then north to Charente-Maritime: Royan and the Coubre lighthouse, the crossing of the Seudre to La Tremblade, and the Cité de l'Huître at Marennes. La Rochelle and its towers closed the maritime chapter, before a detour through the gardens of the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire on the way home.