HISTORY
Our hotel is located 15 minutes' walk from the heart of Arcachon, in the charming Autumn district, also known as the Aiguillon district. We invite you to visit the port, which is just a couple of hundred metres from the hotel, and continue your walk along the duckboard to reach the centre of Arcachon
HISTORY OF THE AREA :
L'Aiguillon is the easternmost district of Arcachon, bordering La Teste de Buch, and was once a marsh populated by cows grazing with their feet in the water.
During the heyday of coastal and deep-sea fishing (Arcachon was France's leading fishing port in 1914), the area became a peninsula colonised by shipyards, fisheries and canneries. Hundreds of modest houses were built by the families who made a living from this flourishing activity.
The Aiguillon district bubbled with a seafaring and working-class culture whose authenticity can still be felt today. The port is changing its strategy and favouring quality over quantity, just like the noble fish that still grace the Arcachon fish auction: sole, sea bass, sea bream, turbot and cuttlefish, which give their emblematic names to the rooms in our hotel.
The Aiguillon district today
Nestling between the Autumn Town of Arcachon and La Teste de Buch, the Aiguillon district attracts visitors for its authenticity. From the church of Saint-Ferdinand to the colourful fishermen's huts on the Pointe de l'Aiguillon, via the harbour, discover the many viewpoints of the site. This lively shopping district can be visited on foot or by bike. It also has a large number of ‘nice little restaurants within easy reach’, according to many tourists. And if you like oysters, you'll want to stop for lunch at the only oyster shack in the area, the Cabane de l'Aiguillon, at the end of boulevard Pierre Loti, just a 15-minute walk from the hotel.
A tribute to sailors
The stele at the entrance to the harbour at the end of the jetty is a monument to sailors who died at sea, and a work of art not to be missed. Depending on where you look from, this moving statue takes the form of an anchor or a cross. It also provides an opportunity to get to know its creator, sculptor Claude Bouscau. This native of Arcachon, from a family of sailors, won the First Grand Prix of Rome.
Saint-Ferdinand church, past and present
The Church of Saint-Ferdinand is the epicentre of the Aiguillon district, with its focus on the sea and its fishermen. Blessed by Cardinal Ferdinand Donnet, it is adorned with its emblematic Sacré-Coeur statue created by sculptor Edmond Chrétien.
The current Romanesque church has undergone a number of renovations and is the spiritual home of the whole district.
