Côte d’Argent (; ) is a name given to part of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast of the

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

region in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Etymology

The term was first coined to describe the

coast in 1905 by the journalist and poet Maurice Martin. The Congrès national des sociétés de géographie officially approved the name in 1907. The region it referred to eventually shrunk; the northern part including

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; ) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the Departments of France, department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Capital of the Côte de Beauté, Royan is one of the mai ...

became the

Côte de Beauté Côte Restaurants Group Limited, trading as Côte (formerly Côte Brasserie), stylised as CÔTE is a French-style British restaurant chain founded by Richard Caring, Andy Bassadone, Chris Benians and Nick Fiddler in Wimbledon, London in 2007. T ...

and the southern part including

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became the Basque Coast.

Geography

In the south-west of

, facing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, ''La Côte d’Argent'' is part of the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. It is limited at its north by the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

mouth and at its south by the river

Adour The Adour (; ; ) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High- Bigorre ( Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean ( Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. is known as the ' ...

. Large waves make this a popular surfing destination and create some of the largest sand dunes in Europe, including the Dune of Pilat. Surfing competitions include the

Quiksilver Pro France The Quiksilver Pro France is a men's surfing event on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour. The event is part of the yearly world tour (Quiksilver Pro since 2002), and takes place in Landes de Gascogne in the Landes (department), Landes ...

and the Lacanau Pro. Surfing in Capbreton3.jpg, Surfing in Capbreton Cap Ferret 001.jpg, Dune of Pilat from Cap Ferret Quikpro 2015 (218171815).jpeg, Quiksilver Pro France Dune du Pilat - panoramio (13).jpg, View from Dune of Pilat File:Lacanau Pro 2009.jpg, Lacanau Pro

Towns

Towns and resorts along the Côte d’Argent include:

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

* Soulac-sur-Mer * Vendays-Montalivet * Hourtin *

Carcans Carcans (; , ) is a commune in the Gironde department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine), France. Carcans is one of the 14 members of the Community of Communes of Médoc Atlantique. Geography Location Sit ...

* Lacanau * Le Porge * Lège-Cap-Ferret *

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 p ...

* Pyla-sur-Mer

Landes

Biscarrosse Biscarrosse (; ) 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 Biscarrosse is the ...

Mimizan Mimizan (; ) 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 resort on t ...

, nicknamed the "Pearl of the Côte d’Argent" *

Contis Contis is a village, part of the commune of Saint-Julien-en-Born, in the Landes ''département'' of southwest France, on the Atlantic Ocean, which has an extensive beach, ''Contis Plage''. Overview The wide beach of fine sand is popular with ...

Lit-et-Mixe Lit-et-Mixe (; ) 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 following is a list of th ...

Vielle-Saint-Girons Vielle-Saint-Girons (; ) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department o ...

Moliets-et-Maa Moliets-et-Maa (; ) 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 village proper ...

* Messanges * Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains *

Seignosse Seignosse (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Landes (department), Landes Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Tourism and leisure Surfing Seignosse is prized for surfing. Wi ...

Soorts-Hossegor Soorts-Hossegor (; ) is a commune in the departments of France, French department of Landes (department), Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France, 20 km (12 miles) north of Biarritz. The town is on a plot of land with 4 beaches on 3. ...

* Capbreton * Labenne * Ondres *

Tarnos Tarnos (; ; ) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Geography Tarnos is in the far southwest corner of the department, 5 km north of Bayonne. Population See also *Communes of the Landes de ...

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

Anglet Anglet (; , )ANGELU
Auñamendi Encyclopedia, Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia is a Communes of Fra ...

References

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

Landforms of Gironde Landforms of Landes (department) Landforms of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Seaside resorts in France Surfing locations in France {{tourism-stub