Mimizan-plage, France
Mimizan is a commune in the department Les Landes in south-western France. There are two separate districts of the town: Mimizan-Bourg (town center) and Mimizan-Plage (resort).
Mimizan Plage – also known as the pearl of the Silver Coast – is actually made up of many beaches lining the coast of this resort-style town. Both the town and its beaches are split down the middle by ‘Le Courant de Mimizan’ – the river which flows between the ocean through to a nearby named Lake Aureilhan (see more on this lake below).
Mimizan’s main village is 10 mins inland from the coast, but the resort town at Mimizan Plage has everything you need to enjoy your holiday. The town square is lined with cafes, shops, and ice-cream parlours selling the most delicious sorbet. With visiting musicians entertaining the passers-by, it’s also the perfect spot to sit back and soak up the holiday atmosphere.
As with all of the beaches on this stretch of coast, surfing is a popular past-time in Mimizan, join our surfing lessons. The long stretch of surf means everyone can safely enjoy the water without swimmers getting in the way of watersports and vice versa!
Come see us at our first home in Mimizan!
Mimizan Plage – also known as the pearl of the Silver Coast – is actually made up of many beaches lining the coast of this resort-style town. Both the town and its beaches are split down the middle by ‘Le Courant de Mimizan’ – the river which flows between the ocean through to a nearby named Lake Aureilhan (see more on this lake below).
Mimizan’s main village is 10 mins inland from the coast, but the resort town at Mimizan Plage has everything you need to enjoy your holiday. The town square is lined with cafes, shops, and ice-cream parlours selling the most delicious sorbet. With visiting musicians entertaining the passers-by, it’s also the perfect spot to sit back and soak up the holiday atmosphere.
As with all of the beaches on this stretch of coast, surfing is a popular past-time in Mimizan, join our surfing lessons. The long stretch of surf means everyone can safely enjoy the water without swimmers getting in the way of watersports and vice versa!
Come see us at our first home in Mimizan!
HIGHLIGHTS OF LES LANDES
LES LANDES FOREST
Mimizan beach and town are also backed by the large forests of the Landes. These pine forests, one of the largest forests in Europe, extend over vast areas of south-west France and give you the chance to enjoy various outdoor activities such as walking, cycling and horse riding. There are various car-free cycle paths in the forest including the cycle route along the Atlantic coast.
SUD ADOUR
To the south of the Landes forests the Adour region is more hilly, and less forested, with small scale agriculture, woodlands, and numerous villages tucked away in the valleys. The town of Dax contains some Roman ruins, and several of the villages have interesting Roman style churches.
BIARRITZ
Biarritz is a popular and lively resort on the Atlantic coast in south-west France (in the Pyrénées-Atlantique department of Aquitaine). The town has a great deal of charm and is much loved by visitors because of the town, the beach and coast, and its reputation as surfing capital of France.
DESTINATIONS IN MIMIZAN
SURFLIFE MIMIZAN DELUXE
The O’Neill Surf Camp Mimizan has been established in 1991 so this summer it’s the 29th summer of being the best surf camp in France! We will celebrate this with a Deluxe version of our famous Surf Camp. Join us on our new spot at this great **camping (incl. pool) with luxurious bell tent accommodation!
SINGLE FIN HOTEL & LODGE
The Single Fin Hotel & Lodge is a classic basque landaise home from the outside, but with bohemian comfort inside. There are 18 rooms, all with private bathrooms and balcony and they share a large rooftop terrace and an open-plan living area on the ground floor with bar and restaurant facilities.
SURFLIFE FAMILY MIMIZAN
Our Surflife Family Camp Mimizan is located in the surf town Mimizan on Camping Marina Landes. A lovely campsite where we have our very own space for our surf camp. The campsite has a swimming pool, a playground and sports fields. If you are looking for the perfect active Family Holiday, come to Mimizan-Plage!
Surfing Mimizan
For intermediate of advanced surfers we offer special Surf Coaching with special focuses on manoeuvres along the wave and we will go over different techniques.
LOCAL SURF SPOTS
Quiet place but with good enough waves to produce bodyboard champ Nicolas Capdeville. Four beaches on either side of the rivermouth that helps sculpt some good sandbars, particularly from mid to high tide.
BOARD RENTAL
Choose from all sorts of surfboards, from shortboards (from 6 foot), and mini-malibus (7,6 to 8 foot) to longboards (9 to 10 foot). These surfboards are of good quality and made by well known brands like NSP, Southpoint, BIC, Surftech and Victory. You can also choose from soft-top surfboards of different sizes which are perfect for surf lessons and starting surfers.
WETSUITS
A wetsuit protects you during surfing from the “fresher” water in the Atlantic Ocean, bright sun and board rash. At Surflife we have wetsuits of top quality. During surf lessons a wetsuit is mandatory. We’ve got different wetsuits for men and women in all sizes.
Things to do in Les landes
CHATEAU WOOLSACK
Chateau Woolsack, a mock-Tudor hunting lodge, was built for the second Duke of Westminster in 1911 and modelled on Rudyard Kipling’s house of the same name in Cape Town. The duke entertained Coco Chanel, Salvador Dalí and Winston Churchill there and spent his summers chasing boar, deer and woodcock with a huge pack of hounds through the forest. Chateau Woolsack is now in private hands, but can be seen on the banks of Aureilhan lake.
SINGLE FIN RESTAURANT
A perfect place to have lunch or diner. You can choose to sit inside, in the veranda or even on the terras on the first floor which gives you an amazing river view. The Perfect place to enjoy the sunset!
CONTIS-LES-BAINS
A little further down the coast is Contis-les-Bains, a village built on wooden decking and famous for its big waves and black-and-white striped lighthouse. Dating from 1863, the lighthouse is still operational and open for visits (€3 and 146 steps to the top) but is, curiously, now in the middle of the pine forest.
CYCLING
Cycling as a family is easy on the Côte d’Argent, which incorporates La Velodysée route. A gentle introduction is the ride to the chapel of Saint Laurent in the neighbouring hamlet of Maâ, past typical Landais houses built in a herringbone-pattern brick, with a gently sloping roof that almost touches the ground.
LAC DE AUREILHAN
A slightly rustic experience, it’s a good spot for an afternoon stroll or lazy shoreside picnic. There are two beaches on the Aureilhan side of the lake, and there’s plenty to do around and on the lake when you’ve had enough of building sandcastles. Water sports are popular here – it’s a great place to learn to windsurf, go for a paddle on a canoe, or even hire a boat to explore the protected natural environment.
PROMENADE FLEURIE
Aureilhan lake is also home to Promenade Fleurie – an unmissable garden walk for lovers of nature, flowers, and even wildlife. We saw a few playful otters in the water alongside the promenade, and various birdlife. This short lakeside walk is home to 300 varieties of plants, offering an experience that changes with the seasons.
BISCAROSSE
Biscarrosse – dubbed Bisca by the locals – is in the north of the Landes. It’s just over an hour’s drive from Bordeaux, the wine capital of the world (if you didn’t already have enough reason to visit!). The small seaside town at Biscarrosse Plage is bursting with bistros offering mussels and steak, alongside a smattering of shops selling souvenirs and beach gear. It has a buzzing resort style atmosphere in the summer.
PLAGE DE L’ESPECIER
Approx 15 mins south of Mimizan Plage you’ll find plage de l’Especier. A bucolic beach with nothing but the obligatory surf school to interrupt the tranquillity – plage de l’Especier is the authentic way to enjoy the Atlantic coast. The approach to the beach is a little inconspicuous and the carpark is set well back from the beach – inviting you to walk through the pines and grass covered dunes. But once you arrive at the top of the dunes – the views are absolutely astonishing.
ARCACHON
A long-time oyster-harvesting area on the southern side of the tranquil, triangular Bassin d’Arcachon (Arcachon Bay), this seaside town lured bourgeois Bordelaise at the end of the 19th century. Its four little quarters are romantically named for each of the seasons, with villas that evoke the town’s golden past amid a scattering of 1950s architecture.
DUNE DE PILAT
Majestic, awesome, spectacular, unusual … The famous Dune of Pilat definitely leaves no-one indifferent! This sand formation is the tallest dune in Europe. While it is particularly known for its record height, it is also famed for the exceptional scenery it offers from its peak. Once at the top, after climbing the stairs, you can see on one side the huge pine forest, a real ocean of green, and on the other the Atlantic, the headland … A magical moment!
guest reviews
Hannah | Guest Single Fin Hotel & Lodge
A great value for money hotel in an excellent location. This hotel was very comfortable and welcoming with the most helpful and friendly staff. The food was also excellent. A very casual and warm experience with lovely understated decor. Everything was excellen! (Source: Google)
Family Spaans | Guest Surflife Family Mimizan
We had a super nice holiday with Surflife in Mimizan Plage. With well-equipped tipitents. And an enthusiastic team that was ready to ‘pamper’ us, with a delicious breakfast every morning, tasty beach sandwiches and healthy dinner. Because of the joint activities, the children quickly had friends and girlfriends and we also had fun evenings at the shared bar. (Source: Pharos).
James | Guest Single Fin Hotel & Lodge
Great lodgings with an especially nice breakfast. Well organized, high quality surfing lessons and an amazing location. I really enjoyed my stay here and will certainly be back (Source: Google).
GALLERY
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Climate
Classified as having an ‘oceanic climate’ due to its situation on the west coast of France the Bordeaux area actually tends to enjoy warmer summers and milder winters than its other oceanic climate counterparts. In actuality it can feel more like a Mediterranean climate, although a substantial amount of rainfall during the summer the months prevents it from being classified as such.
Temperatures
Temperatures are typically between 10 and 30°C in Les Landes and in the warmest summer months of July and August the average maximum temperature is about 27°C. Although temperatures can reach a high of 39-40°C, high temperatures in the summer exceed 31°C only one day out of 10.
Getting there
Bordeaux is the main transport hub for the region, with an international airport and excellent rail and bus links (www.rome2rio.com). Closest railway station is Labouheyre.
Health
France is a healthy place, so your main risks are likely to be sunburn, foot blisters, insect bites and mild stomach problems from eating and drinking with too much.
Tap water: Some fountains in villages and towns also spout drinking water – ‘eau potable’ means ‘drinking water’, ‘non potable’ means undrinkable.
Eating
Foodies will be in seventh heaven in the Lower Atlantic Coast. Main city Bordeaux cooks up excellent dining in all budgets, cheap-as-chips food trucks and triple Michelin-starred restaurants included. Being by the sea, seafood and shellfish – especially oysters – are abundant everywhere and among the finest in France.
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