The coasts of France

Seaside areas around France - from the best beaches to the most secluded coves

What is the French seaside like? What are the seashores and beaches like? Where are the best beaches in France? These are questions that tourists often ask; but with over 2000 miles of coastline, continental France (i.e., excluding Corsica) has plenty of coastline and beaches of different sorts to satisfy the millions of tourists and holidaymakers who flock to them each summer. From popular crowded resort beaches to vast empty expanses of golden sand, France has beaches for all tastes. This also means that for the foreign visitor, a holiday on the French coast can sometimes be a disappointment if the resort or region chosen has the wrong kind of seaside or seashore.
The map above divides the French coast very schematically into two types: in pink, coasts that are predominantly rocky, often with cliffs; in yellow, the flatter areas of coastline, where there are plenty of long sandy beaches.

Here, in greater detail, is a description of the French coastline, taken in an anti-clockwise direction, and starting at the top, on the Belgian border.

The North coast

The extreme north coast of France, from Belgium to Calais, borders on the North Sea, and is characterised by broad sandy beaches and sand dunes.
Beyond Calais - reflecting the English coast opposite - the Channel coast round and south of Cap Gris Nez has chalk cliffs, with small harbours and beaches of shingle or sand. Between Calais and Boulogne, the Opal Coast, as it is known, is part of a regional park area, with its coastal footpath and other hiking opportunities.   The cliffs give way to a flat coastline with beaches and estuarine shores in Picardy, round the mouth of the River Somme. The resort of Le Touquet is famous for its sand dunes.

In the north of Normandy, the chalk cliffs return, culminating in the famous cliffs of Etretat, the highest in France. The small seaside resorts, tucked into creeks, were once very popular with Parisians.
Beyond the mouth of the Seine, and the pretty historic port of Honfleur,  the Normandy coast is generally a mix of broad sandy beaches with, here and there, low cliffs and pebbly beaches. This mixed shoreline, the site of the Second World War Normandy landings, carries round and up the Cotentin peninsula.
The northern end of Cotentin is marked by another rocky area, with granite cliffs and sandy beaches, rather like the Channel Islands which are close by.

   The south Breton coast is warmer and less rugged than the north, and in the department of Morbihan, the coast is characterised by fine sandy beaches. (photo above)

The Atlantic coast

Southwards from the mouth of the Loire, from Vendée, through Charentes and as far as the Gironde, the Atlantic coast is largely made up of long sandy beaches; coastal towns and villages, such as La Rochelle, Les Sables d'Olonne and Rochefort, have tended to spread along behind the shoreline, but in many parts, the beaches are backed by a band of pine forests, and can be remarkably uncrowded even in summer.
South of the Gironde, the Aquitaine coast is famous for its long sandy beaches, but also for its forests that come right up to the coastline, or at least up to the band of sand dunes behind the beaches. At the entrance to the Bay of Arcachon, the Dune du Pilat (photo left) is the highest sand dune in Europe - over 300 ft high, and almost two miles long.
    Known as the "Côte d'Argent" or Silver Coast, the shoreline between the estuary of the Gironde and Capbreton, the coast offers mile upon mile of unbroken sandy beaches, often accessible only on small tracks through the forest.. This all changes as one reaches the Basque country, where the seaside is quite built up from Capbreton via Bayonne and Biarritz to the Spanish border.

The Mediterranean coast

The south coast of France is conveniently divided into two sections, west of the Rhone (Languedoc), and east of the Rhone (Provence - Riviera). Languedoc offers mile upon mile of sandy seashores - though the Mediterranean being non-tidal, these sandy beaches are not generally as broad as those of the Atlantic coast. On the other hand, the water is usually warmer.
The Languedoc coast is a popular tourist destination.Around the Rhone delta, between the Camargue and Marseilles, the coast is not particularly touristy; with the proximity of shipping ports - Fos and Marseilles, and the water coming from the River Rhone, this is not the best part of the French coast, though there are some attractive small beaches. The Camargue itself has long beaches, not always very accessible as this is a protected wetland area. The main tourist beaches, with their long expanses of sand, lie between the western end of the Rhone delta and Argelès sur Mer, south of Perpignan. There is then a short section of rocky coastline from Collioure to Cerbère and the Spanish border. At actual resorts, beaches can be busy in summer time; but between the resorts, there is plenty of room for everyone, even at the peak of the holiday season.

Riviera hotels from

Hotels
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East of Marseilles, it is a different story. This is the start of the Provence and the French Riviera, a rocky jagged coast characterised by its small inlets, shingly or sandy beaches, and beautiful landscapes. It should be noted that a lot of the beaches here are of shingle or fine pebbles, including the famous beach beside the seafront at Nice. This is the region with the most famous of French seaside resorts - Saint Tropez, Juan les Pins, Saint Raphael, Cannes, Nice  and many others. It is an area that is extremely popular in summer, and holidaymakers thinking of going here in July or August should make sure that they have booked up their hotel - or campsite - well in advance.
As for the "best beaches in France", that's really a matter for individual choice; but for good measure, here is a selection of ten of the many great beaches to be found in France.

The Mediterranean by train

Many Mediterranean resorts and smaller towns can be reached directly by train. These include Marseilles, Nice and Cannes - but also smaller resorts like Cerbère, Collioure, Anthéor, le Trayas, where the train stations are just a few hundred meters from the beach.

Ten of the best beaches in France

This list is in anti-clockwise order, going round the coast of France from Calais in the North, via the Atlantic coast, then across the Mediterranean coast to finish at Nice. These are all large spacious beaches; The beaches at Le Touquet, La Baule, Chatelaillon, Biarritz and Nice are in popular seaside resorts, and may become relatively crowded in peak season; the others are in small resorts or between resorts, and are liable to have plenty of space for all even during the busiest time of the holiday season.

• Plage du Touquet. Hauts de France - South of Boulogne
• Plage de Surtainville, Normandy - on the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula
• Plage des Grands Sables, Brittany - on the Morbihan coast in southern Brittany
• Plages de la Baule, Pays de la Loire. On the Atlantic coast, just north of the mouth of the Loire
• Plage de Chatelaillon, Charentes.  Just to the south of La Rochelle
• Plage du Pin Sec, Gironde. Naujac sur Mer, on the coast north of Arcachon
• Plage de la Côte des Basques, Biarritz. Pyrenees Atlantiques, near the Spanish border
• Plage du Racou, Argelès sur Mer. In the Eastern Pyrenees south of Perpignan.
• Plage des Orpeillères, Valras Plage. Hérault. to the east of Valras, bordered by a nature reserve.
• Plage Beau Rivage, Baie des Anges, Nice, French Riviera. One of the most famous beaches in France

Click here for a detailed map of France, which you can scroll and zoom on any area.