The A63 autoroute is a motorway in southwest

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, connecting

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

(from Junction 15 of the Rocade) to the border with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and Basque Country via the

Autopista AP-8 The Autopista AP-8 is a highway ( autopista) in the north of Spain and crosses the Basque Country from east to west. It is known as the Autopista del Cantábrico (highway of the Cantabrian) and connects the French border with Bilbao. This tol ...

. The motorway, rather than being a purpose-built route, is an upgrade of the former RN10, which became a full

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

and no longer exists south of Bordeaux. The motorway crosses ''Les Landes'' (moorland) as a

dual-carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

Route

The A63 connects the border with

at Biriatou (close to

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

which it reaches at junction 15 of rocade). It is part of the ''Autoroute des Estuaires'' and is used by lorries from all over

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

heading to the

Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

. In addition, the road is connected at Bayonne with the A64 to Pau,

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. The northern section has junctions with the A660.

History

*The A63 was operated by the Autoroute Company de la Cote Basque (ACOBA) in 1984. *The first section to open was the by-pass of

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...

, rowspan="1", Biriatou , 0.04 , 0.03 , - Junction 1 ,

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Urrugne Urrugne (; eu, Urruña)URRUÑA
Ciboure Ciboure (; ,ZIBURU

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Biarritz , 21.7 , 13.5 , - Junction 4 , Biarritz, Biarritz Airport , Péage de Biarritz-La Négresse , - , rowspan="3", Bayonne , 26.6 , 16.5 , - Junction 5 , Bayonne, Anglet , Péage Bayonne-Sud , - , 30.7 , 19.1 , , , , - , 32.8 , 20.4 , - Junction 6 , Bayonne, Pau , , - , rowspan="12", Landes , rowspan="1",

Ondres Ondres () is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is only two miles from the nearest beach (Ondres plage), which is well known for being a good surfing spot. Population Culture Ondres is the home ...

, 39 , 24.2 , - Junction 7 , Labenne, Boucau-Tarnos, Ondres , , - , rowspan="1", Benesse-Maremne , 48.8 , 30.3 , - Junction 8 ,

Seignosse Seignosse (; oc, Senhòssa) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Tourism and leisure Surfing Seignosse is prized for surfing. With Biarritz and Hossegor, Seignosse is one of th ...

, Hossegor, Capbreton , Péage de Benesse-Maremne , - , rowspan="2", Saint-Geours-de-Maremne , 65.2 , 40.5 , - Junction 9 ,

Mont de Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the '' Constantin Roz ...

Dax Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...

, Exit/Entry to D824 only , - , 67.2 , 41.8 , - Junction 10 , Vieux-Boucau,

Soustons Soustons (; oc, Soston) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Soustons hosts one of the LORAN-C transmitters. See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of ...

, , - , rowspan="1",

Magescq Magescq (; oc, Magesc) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of Fra ...

, 74.9 , 46.5 , - Junction 11 ,

Léon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Moliets-et-Maa Moliets-et-Maa (; oc, Moliets e Mar) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. Description The principal economic activity is tourism and the village features long sandy beaches and golf courses. The ...

, , - , rowspan="1", Castets , 87.6 , 54.4 , - Junction 12 , Vielle-Saint-Girons, Castets , , - , rowspan="1",

Lesperon Lesperon (; oc, L'Esperon) is a Communes of France, commune in the Landes (department), Landes Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. Geography Common located about 30 kilometres from the beaches of ...

, 101 , 62.8 , - Junction 13 ,

Lit-et-Mixe Lit-et-Mixe (; oc-gsc, Lit e Micse) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. The François Ozon film Sous le sable was set in Lit-et-Mixe. See also *Communes of the Landes department The followin ...

, Rion-des-Landes , , - , rowspan="1", Onesse-Laharie , 111 , 69 , - Junction 14 ,

Mimizan Mimizan (; oc, Mamisan) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. There are two separate districts of the town: Mimizan-Bourg (town center) and Mimizan-Plage (resort). Geography Mimizan is a seaside ...

Morcenx Morcenx (; Gascon: ''Morcens'') is a former commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Morcenx-la-Nouvelle.Escource , 122 , 75.8 , - Junction 15 ,

Sabres A sabre is a type of sword. Sabre, Sabres, saber, or SABRE may also refer to: Weapons and weapon systems * Sabre (fencing), a sporting sword * Sabre (tank), a modern British armoured reconnaissance vehicle * Chinese sabre or ''dao'', a variety ...

, Escource , , - , rowspan="1",

Labouheyre Labouheyre (; oc, La Bohèira) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Landes department *Parc naturel régional des Landes de Gascogne Landes de Gascogne Regional Natu ...

, 129 , 80.2 , - Junction 16 , Labouheyre , , - , rowspan="1", Liposthey , 143 , 88.9 , - Junction 17 ,

Biscarrosse Biscarrosse (; oc, Biscarròssa) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is located southwest of Bordeaux, and inland from the seaside resort of Biscarrosse-Plage on the Atlantic coast. Near Bis ...

Parentis-en-Born Parentis-en-Born (; oc, Parentís) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has one of the biggest oil reserves of continental western Europe. The Biscarrosse – Parentis Airport is located in the ...

, Liposthey , , - , rowspan="1", Saugnac-et-Muret , 153 , 95.1 , - Junction 18 , Saugnac-et-Muret , , - , rowspan="9", Gironde , rowspan="1", Belin-Béliet , 159 , 98.8 , - Junction 20 , Belin-Béliet , Northbound exit only/Southbound entry only , - , rowspan="1", Salles , 169 , 105 , - Junction 21 , Salles , , - , rowspan="2", Mios , 181 , 112.5 , - Junction 22 ,

Biganos Biganos (; oc, Viganòs) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. This commune has two harbours. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde department *Parc naturel régional des Landes de Gasco ...

Gujan-Mestras Gujan-Mestras (; oc, Gujan e Mestràs) is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France. It is twinned with Santa María de Cayón, Spain Population Geography Gujan-Mestras is located in the southern part of the Arcachon bay. I ...

Arcachon Arcachon ( ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Gironde. It is a popular seaside resort on the Atlantic coast southwest of Bordeaux, in the Landes forest. It has a sandy beach and a mild climate said to be favourable for i ...

, , - , 184 , 114.3 , - Junction 23 ,

Lacanau Lacanau (; oc, label= Gascon, La Canau, ) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Lacanau is a surfing area. Lacanau is a member of the Community of Municipalities Médoc's Lakes which includes the mu ...

Le Barp Le Barp (; oc-gsc, Lo Barp) is a municipality in the Southwest of France that has 5410 inhabitants (April 2018). It is located in the Department of Gironde in the Region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is also located in the Landes Forest, on the terri ...

, Marcheprime , , - , rowspan="2",

Cestas Cestas (; oc-gsc, Cestàs) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Economy Cestas Solar Park was the biggest solar park in Europe when Neoen opened it in December 2015. See also *Co ...

, 193 , 119.9 , - Junction 24 , Saint Jean d'Illac , , - , 199 , 123.7 , - Junction 25 , Cestas , , - , rowspan="1", Granet , 202 , 125.5 , Chemin de la Briqueterie - Junction 26b , Canejan , Northbound entry only / Southbound exit only , - , rowspan="2", Canéjan , 203 , 126.1 , Avenue du Haut Leveque - Junction 26 ,

Gradignan Gradignan (; oc-gsc, Gradinhan) is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France. It is a suburb of the city of Bordeaux and is located on its southwest side. Thus, it is a member of the Bordeaux Métropole. Population Educa ...

, Canéjan , Northbound exit only / Southbound entry only , - , 204 , 126.8 , Avenue du Haut Leveque - Junction 26a , Gradignan, Canéjan , Northbound entry only / Southbound exit only , -

A660

*''Exchange A63-A660'' Junction with the A63 *01 (''Lacanau de Mios'') km 2 Towns served: *02 (''Facture-Biganos'') km 4 Towns served: *03 (''Le Teich'') km 10 Towns served: ''Roundabout Point Gujan-Mestras'' Junction with RD650 ''Roundabout Point La Hume'' Junction with RN250

Future

* The southern section will be widened to three lanes over the next few years. * It is planned to upgrade the RN10 across the Landes. * The northern section would become part of a new ring road for Bordeaux. This however is a controversial road project.

References

External links

A63 Motorway on Saratlas

Web site of Atlandes
{{DEFAULTSORT:A63 Autoroute A63