Soulacaise

Leave the Tourist Office and turn left towards the Aliénor d'Aquitaine esplanade. You are facing the forecourt of the Notre-Dame de la Fin des Terres basilica.

Take the stairs to the left of the esplanade to reach rue des Bénédictins. Arrive at the top, take this street on the right. You overlook the basilica. Continue on this street until the crossroads where you find yourself opposite the former Benedictine monastery.

Head to your right and join the roundabout below. Cross the two pedestrian crossings on your left to reach rue Perrier de Larsan. Continue on this street to Place Georges Clémenceau where you can admire its monumental fountain.

Once there, take Rue du Mal-Leclerc then, at the next roundabout, take the second exit on your right towards Cours Chanzy and continue on Cours R. Duveau. When you arrive at the intersection with rue du RP Brottier, opposite the stop sign, take the path that looms through the dune in front of you. You can see the Signal, a typical residential building from the end of the 1960s and the main witness to marine erosion.

Join the seafront promenade, on the other side of the road (possibility of going down to the beach for this section). You will now walk towards the north of the city. In the distance in the ocean, you can admire the Cordouan lighthouse, the “lighthouse of kings and the king of lighthouses” surrounded by the waters. You can also see the breakwaters installed in the last century along the beach to fight against erosion. At the end of this walk, a curiosity awaits you: a replica of the famous Statue of Liberty.

Facing this statue, turn to your left. You pass in front of the memorial of the North Médoc fortress. Now turn towards rue Le Cavernec. Head to Place des Arros. Almost directly on your right, before the departure of the little tourist train, take the forest path and refer to the signpost present to take the direction of the GR8 for a few meters. Then turn on your left to join and follow the cycle path and the rails of the little train. You find yourself in the middle of the forest populated by typical Médoc flora. After passing the beacon along the small railway track which indicates "5,8 km" (be careful, observe carefully, the beacon is on the ground against the rails), carefully cross the track and engage in the central path (three paths are available to you through the forest). Going up this path, you arrive in the middle of the Atlantic Wall bunkers.

Go back down the dune by the first path on the left through these bunkers to reach the Place des Arros, then take the GR8 back to the city center. Leaving the square, turn left, rue du Prince Noir. At the end of this street, continue towards the roundabout on your right and follow the indication center-ville, rue Pléneau, then continue on rue Louis de Foix. At the next intersection, go up rue du Général Désorthes and pass in front of the reformed church. At the end of this street, go down rue Bariquand and then take the direction "centre-ville". You then take rue Galliéni, go back past the basilica and turn right to reach rue de la plage and complete your loop!