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Summary
Villa
des Herons is a newly renovated (2004), 4/5 bedroom semi-detached
villa situated close to Cap Ferret lighthouse in a quiet part
of this chic village with pine trees all around. It is 100m2 inside,
and sleeps 8-9 altogether. Outside is an enclosed garden (300m2).
It is located mid-way between the ocean and bay beaches, approx
400m and 600m away respectively, and a 5-10 minute walk from the
daily market and boutiques, cafés and restaurants. In all,
this
is a very comfortable and convenient base for 1 or 2 families
to enjoy this natural, stylish corner of the Aquitaine coast.
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Key
Facts :
| Nearest
town : |
Cap
Ferret (village centre is 300m) |
| Type
of location : |
Residential
quarter on the edge of the village |
| No.
of bedrooms : |
4
: 2x doubles, 1 x twin (can make double), 1 x bunk beds, plus
single bed on mezzanine level |
| Sleeping
capacity : |
8-9 |
| No.
of bathrooms : |
2:
1 shower room with WC downstairs, 1 bathroom (no WC) upstairs,
further separate WC upstairs |
| Style
of property : |
|
| Quality
guide : |
GOOD
- what
does this mean?
The property is furnished simply and offers charming
and traditional accommodation in keeping with the authentic
style of Cap Ferret
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| Prices
: |
| Price
Band for this venue: |
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» Check availability & prices for this property GO
Min
2 week booking in July & August |
Prices
include bed linen, bathroom towels, heating, gas, electricity.
Optional extras available: winter
heating £30 pw
1000
Euros (or sterling equivalent) payable by credit card and
held by Alternative Aquitaine on the owner’s behalf.
The card record will be destroyed within 14 days of departure
(assuming no breakages or damages).
»
Read important information about security
deposits and insurance |
| Linen
Arrangements : |
Bed
linen and bathroom towels provided with the rental. |
| Cleaning
Arrangements : |
An
exit clean is included in the rental price. (However you will
be expected to perform certain cleaning duties yourself before
leaving.)
» Read important information about cleaning
|
| Arrival
& Departure : |
Arrive
between 4-6 pm and depart by 10am. Changeover day is Saturday
in the high season
» Read important information about
arrivals
& departures
|
| Nearest
beach : |
Atlantic beach - 600m,
or 10 minutes on foot
Bassin d'Arcachon
beach 800m, or 10-15 minutes on foot |
| Nearest
boulangerie : |
Local
shops 150m; Cap Ferret village centre 300 metres |
| Nearest
airport : |
Bordeaux
50 mins; Biarritz 2 hrs 30 minutes; Pau & La Rochelle
3 hrs |
| Nearest
ferry port : |
St
Malo 8 hrs (approx) |
| Swimming
pool : |
No |
| Facilities
& Equipment : |
TV;
BBQ; washing machine; dishwasher; microwave; iron; wi-fi internet
access |
| Suitability
for children : |
Good
- small garden, upstairs TV corner, close to beach |
| Suitability
for infants : |
High
chair and travel cot available (linen provided). Grounds are
safe and enclosed. Care may be needed on open staircase. |
| Things
to see & do : |
Trips:
Dune de Pyla, Petit Train, Arcachon, boat tours. Activities:
Surfing, cycling, watersports, fishing. Visit: Oyster-farming
villages; Médoc wine region, Bordeaux, St Emilion.
Interesting local shopping and eating. |
| House
'rules' : |
Sorry,
no pets. |
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Location: Map
Ref B3
Villa
des Hérons is situated on a quiet residential road on
the edge of the high sought after area of Cap Ferret village,
just 500m from the lighthouse and a five minute walk from the
village's first shops (including boulangerie - always essential)
and 10 minutes amble from the centre (including Cap Ferret's
summer daily market), and ocean and Bay of Arcachon beaches
Bordeaux airport is a 45 minute drive, Bergerac is a two hour
drive, Biarritz a two and a half hour drive away. Pau and La
Rochelle are both about a three hour drive; Bilbao is four hours.
Bordeaux train station (served by TGV from Paris) is a 50-60
minute taxi ride. Please visit our Travel
page for information on services.
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Accommodation :
Villa
des Herons is a modern, tastefully decorated house adjoining
another of the owner's rentals, Maison des Herons, on one side.
There is excellent interior sound-proofing and good screening
outside so that neither house overlooks the other.
House
The house is reached via an enclosed garden at the front of
the property, gated from the road outside. The entrance porch
leads via double doors into the downstairs area comprising:
· Good sized living/dining room,
with extendable dining table and chairs for up to 10 people
· A small kitchen opening
onto the terrace, equipped with dishwasher, washing machine,
oven, 4-ring hob, microwave, fridge
· Lounge/reading room
· Bedroom 1: double bed, with built-in
cupboards
· Shower room
Open stairs lead to the first floor and:
· Bedroom 2: double bed, with built-in
cupboards
· Bedroom 3: bunk beds and built-in
cupboards
· Bedroom 4: twin beds
(can make a double), shelves
· Mezzanine area/TV corner with single
bed
· Bathroom, plus separate WC
Outside
The porch at the front of the house doubles as a very pleasant
outside sitting and eating area - with two sets of double-doors
into the house it also nicely extends the space inside, and
is directly accessed from the kitchen as well as the dining/living
area. The porch is raised from the front garden by a single
step; the gardens are partly-paved, partly-unmade ground, with
a small grassy area, totally enclosed and have plenty of playing
space for children. There is a barbecue, garden furniture and
parasol.
The
owner Caroline is, like us, passionate about Cap Ferret and
will be delighted to share her enthusiasm and knowledge with
you. Speaking from experience, it is infectious!
In all this is a delightful place to spend a week or two (or
more) getting to know this unique part of France.
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How
To Book :
STEP 1.
Check availability. NB Website availability is refreshed
daily but not "live" so please contact us to confirm availability.
Call 0870 6092845 or email us
Once we have confirmed availability we can normally hold a property
for up to 48 hours if you need to confer with friends or family).
STEP 2.
Call or email us
if you want to go ahead and make a provisional booking.
STEP 3.
To confirm a provisional booking we need, within 5 working days,
your completed Booking Form and your deposit payment of 35%.
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Local
Guide:
What's
the Presqu'Ile de Cap Ferret actually like? Difficult
to say, there's nowhere like it! The closest we can get to describing
this part of France is to say that it has the laid back ambience
and relaxing natural environment of the Caribbean, blended with
the subtle refinements of the French way of life - Barbados meets
Bordeaux!
The Cap Ferret
peninsula is a treat for the senses - the scent of the pine forest,
the constant rumble of rollers washing up on the western coast,
the salty, slippery taste of oysters washed down with a Bordeaux
blanc and, at the end of the day, sitting on top of one of the
dunes overlooking the Atlantic and watching the sun go down. Bliss!
All these experiences and more are within very easy reach of Villa
des Hérons. The Atlantic beach, popular with surfers, is
about a 400m away to the west, the bassin d'Arcachon beach at
Cap Ferret village, with amazing views over to the Dune de Pyla,
is 600m to the east.
On the way you pass through Cap Ferret village,
the chic-est spot on the the Presqu'Ile. Smart boutiques, cafes
and restaurants in a low-rise, laid-back setting - the ambience
is casual, relaxed but appreciative of good living. A
couple of 'bonnes adresses': it's worth stopping for a drink the
stylish Tchanque bar of the Hôtel
Maison du Bassin (so named after the famous houses on
stilts close to the Ile aux Oiseaux) - the address for
an 'apéro'; and Fredelian, a salon de
thé
renowned for its patisseries, especially the local favourite (and
ours), cannelés.
From the village débarcadère (Cap
Ferret's jetty, also the location of an excellent brasserie) you
can take a ferry over to Arcachon, Le Moulleau, or catch a trip
to the Dune de Pyla (definitely easier than driving around Bay!),
but you'll probably miss your 'desert island' home quite quickly!
Or try a boat tour spotting the oyster beds and bird life of the
bassin d'Arcachon.
There's also a charming 'petit train' that runs
from the jetty on the bassin side over the dunes at the Atlantic
beach on the other side of the pensinsula; the trip takes 10-15
minutes and, especially if you have children, is a delight!
Heading
on down to the Pointe is a must, stopping
to climb to the top of the famous Cap Ferret lighthouse on the way - the views across the bassin to the sandy wild-life
reserve of the Banc d'Arguin and over to the
Dune de Pyla (Europe's highest sand dune) are breathtaking.
The famous '44 hectares' of the Cap Ferret peninsula
are situated south of the lighthouse. This is an area of villas
built in the earlier part of the century set amongst the pine
trees all served by unmade roads, owned by several French stars,
Bordeaux vineyard owners and generations of Cap Ferret inhabitants
of more modest means. It's probably the most natural, exclusive
yet unpretentious housing estate in France and also home to the
island's most famous restaurant, Chez Hortense - laid back (what else could it be here?) and popular with France's
VIPs.
Another must is visting one of the peninsula's oyster farming
districts at l'Herbe, le Canon or Piraillan where the careful raising of these
exquisite delicacies has continued for over 150 years. Can
oysters ever have tested better than here, at the edge of the
waters where they grew?
If you feel the urge to leave the
Cap - and many don't while they are here - the famous appelations
of Pauillac and Margaux north
in the médoc rouge are not far away. There are many vineyards
where you can visit and taste some of the famous wines. Two very
approachable châteaux are the under-rated (and relatively
inexpensive) Château Maucaillou, a medium-sized,
family-run estate in Moulis-en-Médoc; there is an interesting
museum exhibiting some of the history of wine-making. Or for a
very special visit, Château
Giscours in the Margaux region organises tastings of
various vintages of its grand crus classés, hosted by a
particularly engaging, unpretentious and plain-speaking 'oenologue'
(Master of Wine).
Around
the other side of the basin is Arcachon, a popular
French resort; a part of the town known as the Ville d'Hiver (winter
town) is well worth strolling to see the quirky architecture of
its many 19th century villas.
South of Arcachon is the famous Dune du Pyla,
the largest sand dune in Europe, standing at over 100 metres.
A journey to the summit (try it without the staircase provided!)
is a must; sunrise and sunset are the best times.
If
you're feeling beached out, Bordeaux
is well under an hour away and is a good option for a day-trip,
whether it’s boutique shopping, sight-seeing or culture.
Walking around the 18th century old town centre (Quartier St.
Pierre), you can begin to imagine the city’s commercial
and maritime past. Medieval gems of the Gironde east of Bordeaux
are also wonderful days out; St Emilion, with
its 11th century basilica, is the best known but can be busy;
St Macaire and La Réole are
also enjoyable. Obviously there are more chateaux over here but
an
altogether different wine experience can be had at Caudalie
Vinotherapie Spa, in the middle of the Château
Smith Haut Lafitte, vineyards, just south of Bordeaux. The spa
offers unique beauty treatments derived from grand cru grapes
of the Graves appelation renowned for their anti-ageing and micro-circulation
improving properties - in short, visitors apparently come out
feeling good!
For further information try the links below. Please note that
we cannot be held responsible for the content of third party sites.
Cap
Ferret Tourism
Arcachon Tourism
Bordeaux
Tourism
Gironde
Tourism
UK's
French Tourist Office
Chateau
Giscours
Chateau
Maucaillou
Caudalie
Vinotherapie Spa
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| updated
07.12.09 as |
