Hourtin (; oc, Hortin, ) is a commune of southwestern

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 ar ...

, located in the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1, ...

department, administrative region of

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

(before 2015:

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Januar ...

). It is located in the canton Le Sud-Médoc, part of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Lesparre-Médoc Lesparre-Médoc (; oc, L'Esparra de Medòc, ), commonly known as Lesparre (), is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Lesparre is on the Médoc pen ...

. It is a member of the Community of Communes of Médoc Atlantique.

Population

Geography

Hourtin is on the

Côte d'Argent Côte d’Argent (; ) is a name given to part of the Atlantic coast of the Aquitaine region in France. Etymology The term was first coined to describe the Aquitaine coast in 1905 by the journalist and poet Maurice Martin. The Congrès national d ...

in the Medoc peninsula, at 25 km (15.5 mi) from

Pauillac Pauillac (; oc, Paulhac) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. Populati ...

to the east, 45 km (28 mi) from the

Pointe de Grave 300px, The American monument marking the country's entry into World War 1 as it was proposed in 1921 The Pointe de Grave (in occitan : ''Punta de Grava'') is the northernmost tip of the Médoc Peninsula and marks the Northern end of the pine-clad ...

to the north, and 60 km (37.2 mi) from

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 prefecture ...

to the south east. The town is divided into three main neighbourhoods (Hourtin-Ville, Hourtin-Port, Hourtin-Plage) located several kilometres from one another. Hourtin-Ville is centred around a large square with a grassy area, church and some basic facilities. Hourtin-Plage is the ocean-facing part of the town, about 12 kilometres from Hourtin-Ville, with a large sandy beach that stretches for several kilometres from north to south. This beach is easily accessible by a trail laid on top of the dune. There are also several accesses south and north but they are only accessible by bicycle via the cycle track. Ample parking is available with a few shops and facilities for tourists and visitors. Many of these facilities are seasonal. Hourtin-Port is on the Lac d'Hourtin et de Carcans, one of the great lakes of the

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ...

. As well as port and boating facilities, many activities are planned for the children with a play park, a mini golf course and the children's island which is a large playground for the younger ones. The lake extends 18 km (11.2 mi) at its longest and 5 km (3.1 mi) at its widest, parallel to the

on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in France after

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

. It lies at an elevation of 14 m (46 ft), and has a surface area of 56.67 km² (21.88 sq. miles). The lake has several sandy beaches left to the port and in Piqueyrot. It is shared with the city of Carcans.

Nature reserve

The 21.5 km² (8.3 sq. miles) area of dunes and marshland between the north-western shore of the lake and the Atlantic Ocean, known as the ''dunes et marais d'Hourtin'', has been designated a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

since 2009.

Twin towns

Pontarddulais Pontarddulais (), also known as Pontardulais (), is both a community and a town in Swansea, Wales. It is northwest of the city centre. The Pontarddulais ward is part of the City and County of Swansea. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hend ...

, Swansea,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Ville jumelle avec Hourtin
annuaire-mairie.fr

Population

Geography

Nature reserve

Twin towns

See also