Where to Stay and Eat on the Coast of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Enjoy warm hospitality and fantastic local cuisine on your trip through Nouvelle-Aquitaine…
RESTAURANTS & CAFES
La Vieille Auberge
Tucked away on a side street close to the beach, this popular restaurant in Saint-Jean-de-Luz specialises in Basque cuisine – differentiating between traditional French Basque and Spanish Basque, plus wood-fired meat, fish and seafood. It offers good value fixed-price menus.
Chez Aldo
In the pine forest beside the Plage du Petit Nice, the restaurant incredibly survived the 2022 wildfires. Enjoy cocktails while watching the sunset and a typical beachside menu of seafood. platters, tapas and steaks.
chezaldo.com/5394/restaurant- plage-du-petit-nice.html
Café Justin
This hip café, on Rue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny in Arcachon, opened in 2023 and specialises in upmarket hotdogs, as well as selling vintage furniture. For the sweet of tooth, there’s also pâtisserie. La Belle Époque Worth it for the décor alone, this Bordeaux restaurant has retained its outstanding, original Jules Vieillard ceramic decoration from the 1870s. Dine on classic brasserie food, including breakfast plates.
L’Huitrier Pie
This elegant restaurant serves gastronomic cuisine in the centre of Saint-Emilion. Beautiful food is exquisitely presented, using produce from the surrounding fields and farms.
Le Relais des Salines
A water’s edge view of the saltmarshes at Le Grand-Village- Plage on the Île d’Oléron, this Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant serves fresh, local seafood, including oysters, of course, plus locally caught fish. It’s renowned for its. homemade tarte au citron, too.

Cafe Justin
ACCOMMODATION
Hôtel Château Léognan
This exceptional Bordeaux wine estate is part of the Millesime group of luxury hotels. Choose between five-star rooms and suites in the château or opt for timber and canvas with a luxury lodge in the estate grounds. There’s an on-site spa and the château’s own wine is served at dinner.
Hôtel Chais Monnet
Enjoy five-star luxury in the heart of Cognac. This contemporary hotel opened in 2018 in the historic former cognac cellars of Maison Monnet. There are 104 boutique bedrooms and suites, a Michelin-starred restaurant, jazz bar and a rooftop lounge in which to relax and sip your cognac.
Hôtel du Palais
A five-star Hyatt hotel it may be, but this imposing building overlooking the Atlantic Ocean was built for Napoléon III and his wife, the Empress Eugénie, who loved to visit the town for holidays. Expect Imperial opulence.
Hôtel Ha(a)ïtza
This five-star hotel offers neo- Basque architecture in the pine forest north of the Dune du Pilat. It has 30 rooms, seven suites and an apartment, plus three restaurants including the two-Michelin starred Skiff Club. Hôtel Ha(a)itza is in the woods, while its sister five-star hotel, La Co(o)niche, is on a hilltop overlooking the Atlantic.
Hôtel Le Sénéchal
Located in the centre of Ars-en- Réa Plus Beau Village and one of the most attractive villages on the lle de Ré-this charming hotel has simplistic and rustic decoration (exposed timbers and stone) and a pretty courtyard garden. There’s a choice of rooms and suites, plus a villa sleeping ten people.
Château Grand Barrail
The château is set in beautiful grounds with lake and vineyards near Saint Emilion. Wait until you step inside, though, for true wow factor: you might want to spend all day in the bar or dining room purely for the décor. Affiliated to Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

Grand Barrail Exterior View
Lead photo credit : Hôtel du Palais Biarritz
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