157 - Maison de la Chapelle  Piraillan

In our opinion

What makes Maison de la Chapelle a great holiday rental

Maison de la Chapelle is a traditional holiday villa and a comfortable base for a relaxing family holiday. In summer the daily market is 300m away; it's half a kilometre to the bassin d'Arcachon beach and oyster-farming village and a short bike ride (1800m) to Cap Ferret's famous Atlantic beach, Le Truc Vert. Or just stay back at the house and enjoy the garden, swimming pool and an occasional stroll through the forest.

Best for:
Larger groups of family or friends wanting space & pool whilst staying close to beaches & amenities.

Suitability for:

• Toddlers - cot & high chair provided. Supervision required in garden (steps / small drop)
• Teenagers  - good area for teens to be independent, and lots to do.
• Reduced mobility - sloping accessand slight step up to main door. Ground floor is split level (3 steps). Ground floor bedroom has ensuite bathroom.

Anything to watch out for?
Please note that the floor tiles, wallpaper and some furniture in the ground floor rooms is, to many people's tastes, fairly old-fashioned. It is however good quality, and in keeping with the style and age of the property. One of the en-suite showers / WCs upstairs is partitioned by sliding or cupboard-style doors - still practical and useful, but without the same privacy of a 'proper' separate room.

Why Cap Ferret?
We’ve not met anyone yet who has been to Cap Ferret and not come home a complete convert, but it’s worth noting that it is an area of natural, unspoilt beauty – in spite of its reputation as a upmarket destination it is not conventionally luxurious in the same way as Cap Ferrat (on the Med, often confused with Cap Ferret), but has a laid-back ‘beach-chic’ style of its own. It also means that apart from beaches, surfing, sailing, exploring by bike and eating out, there isn’t much to do. But what else do you need?!

Accommodation

A traditional family holiday villa, a well-equipped and comfortable base for a relaxing, enjoyable holiday.

Inside:

Ground Floor
The front door is via a short path from the road. The main entrance leads into a hallway, which includes an old-style French telephone cabin (now toilet); the kitchen leads off on the right; the living room straight ahead and a flight of three steps to the left to the part of the house with two ground floor bedrooms.

The living/dining room is a spacious, L-shaped area and well-furnished; the dining table seats 8-10, there is plenty of seating, real fireplace, satellite TV. Through the lounge to the side of the house is a conservatory with sliding doors opening onto the terrace; this room includes a small fireplace for summer barbecues.

The farmhouse-style kitchen is a fairly small for the sleeping capacity of the property, but is well-equipped (microwave, dishwasher, oven/hob, fridge-freezer, toaster, coffee-maker, etc), and contains a small table and chairs.

There are two double bedrooms on the other downstairs part of the house (away from the living and outside areas): Bedroom 1 contains a double bed, with next-door shower room; Bedroom 2 also contains a double bed, with en-suite bathroom (with shower attachment). Both rooms are a good size, with wardrobes providing plenty of storage.

Upstairs
Upstairs is a separate WC, plus four bedrooms, all re-decorated and re-furnished to a good standard in 2008.

Bedroom 3: with a double bed and en-suite shower; that can be divided into twins; this room has an en-suite shower.
Bedroom 4: twin bedroom with en-suite shower unit (screened by a cupboard door).
Bedroom 5: with a double bed plus single, and washbasin
Bedroom 6: accessed via Bedroom 3, with a double bed plus single, and washbasin.

Bedrooms 3 and 4 also contain a WC, in both cases screened by a cupboard door.

Basement
Steps lead down from the hall into the garage, also accessible by a sloping drive at the rear of the house. A washing machine and dryer are stored down here, along with table-tennis table and bicycles for guests' use. There is also a small 'gym room' at this level, containing exercise bike and weight-training bench.

Outside:

Outside is a good-sized garden (1200m2), attractively planted and maintained, and home of course to the 9 x 4m swimming pool, overlooked by the covered terrace at the side of the house. The see-through cover of the pool serves as safety protection when it's not in use, can provide shade from the sun, and keeps the heat in at night.

Prices & Availability

Location

GPS: (44.7057313, -1.230801344)

We endeavour to be as accurate as possible using Google maps but some error is possible.

Things to Do & See

Nearby Activities
Surfing · Kitesurfing · Windsurfing · Sailing · Water-skiing · Jet-skiing · Kayaking · Golf · Cycling · Horse-riding · Birdwatching · Fishing · Wine-tasting · Degustation · Adventure Parc ·

Day-trip Ideas

• Climb the Dune de Pilat (esp. by water taxi)
• Ride a tram through central Bordeaux
• Tour the Médoc vineyards and wine-tasting
• Walk around St Emilion (UNESCO world heritage site)

Our Personal Highlights

• Visit local market and oyster-farming villages. Explore Cap Ferret's wonderful forest cycle trails (pick up 500m from the house)
• Hang out in chic Cap Ferret village
• Boat trips around the Bassin and to Dune de Pilat
• Le Petit Train trip across the peninsula is a delight
• Take ferry to the 'mainland': Arcachon and le Moulleau
• Visit Médoc wine region (Margaux, Lafite, etc), revitalised Bordeaux, historic St Emilion.

The Local Area: Piraillan

Cap Ferret is a beautiful sandy strip bordered by beautiful Atlantic beaches & dunes on one side, the gentle Bay shore on the other, and the scent of pine forest in between. It has a stylish, laid-back ambience and an unspoilt, natural environment which give it an 'island' feel - what could be better for a holiday.

Piraillan is one of the small towns along the Cap Ferret peninsula, and is renowned for oyster-farming quarter: alleys of characterful, brightly-painted huts which line the Arcachon basin's shore. 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? A stroll, stopping for a degustation, is a must!

Just 300m from the villa is Piraillan's extensive covered food market (open July & August) - with a bit of planning you need never shop in a supermarket while you're here.

To the south Piraillan merges into Le Canon which offers local shops, tabac, its own oyster-farming quarter, local Bay-side beach and two good local restaurants. 'Le Truc Vert' is the nearest Atlantic Beach, about 3 kms away and easily cyclable along the quiet avenues which then join up with one of the peninsula's fantastic forest cycle-ways on the west.

6 kms to the south, Cap Ferret village is 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.

From the village you can take a ferry over to Arcachon or Le Moulleau, 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 to the fantastic Atlantic beach "l'Horizon" 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 is worth exploring by bicycle. It is 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.

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.

Customer Reviews

“Property was great and the best equipped house we have stayed in.”

Mr S Lea, stayed in 2008