Dune of Pilat

About this place

The Dune of Pilat is the tallest sand dune in Europe, at the southern entrance to Arcachon Bay on the Atlantic coast of southwest France, in La Teste-de-Buch, about 8 km south of Arcachon and 57 km southwest of Bordeaux in a straight line. The dune holds about 60 million cubic metres of sand; it is about 500 metres wide and 2.7 km long from north to south, and in 2018 it stood 106.6 metres above sea level. It runs parallel to the shore and slowly moves inland with the wind, burying the forest trees behind it. From the top, endless green pine forest stretches one way, and the blue Atlantic, the white sands of the Banc d'Arguin and the mouth of the bay the other. The fine sand shifts colour with the light, and the west face drops steeply to the beach. Visitors climb a stairway set into the sand in season or walk up the soft sand; the climb is tiring but short. Go in the morning or just before sunset to avoid heat and crowds, and expect strong wind at the top.