Camping Les Dunes de Contis

It's less than 20 minutes to get to Contis beach by car, via the D652 and local town Saint-Julien-en-Born, or about 40 minutes by bike (depending on whether you indulge in a pitstop or two along the way). Either way, make a Contis Plage day one of your first stops, as it's a well-known and popular Landes beach spot with long lengths of sand and fine waters for swimming and surfing. A surf school is nearby if you need a few tips. Another famed local beach spot is Mimizan, a place so pretty it has the moniker the Pearl of the Côte d'Argent. There are two parts to its resort: the more active Mimizan North Beach for watersports, and the South Beach for cycling trails, walking paths and seasonal markets. If you'd rather have a more peaceful vibe, there's spectacular wildlife watching in the forest between Mimizan and Saint-Paul-en-Born: you could see deer, badgers and owls and, with any luck, one of the forest's wild boar. For lots more species sighting, the Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park is about an hour inland.