It is noon. What if we tasted a dozen oysters in an oyster hut? On the terrace or with your feet in the water, the oyster farmers welcome you to their place of work to stock up on iodine and memories: oysters just out of the clearings, fresh white wine, sailboats and pinnaces swinging in the distance, sun at its zenith…paradise!
There are nearly a thousand huts scattered all around the Arcachon bay, including 81 dedicated to oyster tasting on site. Huddled together to form veritable villages, these huts have in common their pine walls and a frame with two slopes covered with tiles. Only a few touches of color make it possible to distinguish them: here blue shutters, there a yellow door; and everywhere, hollyhocks climbing the walls, whitewashed tiles in front of the entrance. A charm !
Where to taste oysters at the cabin?
On the Lège Cap Ferret peninsula, oyster huts are everywhere! Claouey-Le Four, Les Jacquets-Petit Piquey, Grand Piquey, Piraillan, Le Canon, L'Herbe or Cap Ferret.
South side of the basin: Arès, Andernos-les-Bains, Taussat/Cassy, lanton, Audenge, Biganos, Gujan-Mestras, Arcachon, La Teste-de-Buch.
Find the list of oyster huts on the "Bassin d'Arcachon" application (App Store /google play)
The pearl of the Bassin d'Arcachon
The oyster from Arcachon bay owes everything to Napoleon III who loved it and had the first imperial parks in France created in 1860.
Did you know ? The oyster changes sex depending on the year. Yes ! Sometimes male, sometimes female, it is a cyclic hermaphrodite.
The oyster, how does it work?
The oyster larvae which float in the water in summer (the spat) are collected on tiles coated with lime, grouped in collectors (cages or hives). At the age of 8 months, the small oysters are detached from the tile (detroquage). The most fragile are placed in a flat mesh box (called an ambulance!).
After separating the oysters, they are sown in the beds where they reach maturity (3 years).
Today, the Arcachon bay is the leading producer of spats (young oysters) in France.
Oyster huts and port trades
The time of a tide, embark on the boat of an oyster farmer or a professional fisherman " Pescatourism ". A very original way to discover the Basin and its traditional trades with those who work there in summer and winter!
Festive huts in Andernos-les-Bains
On the first Saturday of December, the port of Andernos-les-Bains welcomes " Festive huts, oysters and Entre-Deux-Mers ". On the menu: oysters and wines from Entre-deux-Mers, tapas from the sea concocted by Girondin Chefs, parade of rigging, regattas of pinasses… all punctuated by bandas and sea shanties. Ultra festive atmosphere guaranteed!
To find out more, please visit the Oyster House in Gujan-Mestras, you will discover the culture of the oyster, its history, its trades. An exciting journey through the heart of activity in the Bassin d'Arcachon.
