Read more about the 10 best surfing destinations in France! Our country is full of an incredible diversity of surf spots: a true paradise for surfers looking for thrills! Lefts, rights, powerful waves for experienced surfers, soft waves for beginners, there is something for everyone! In this article, we offer you an overview of the best surf spots that you will find in France, with a ranking of the best waves according to different categories. Some spots are particularly easy to access. And surfers who have the good idea of taking a license in one of the 160 federal clubs, will often be able to find optimal facilities there to change, store their equipment, take lessons…
To start our top 10 best surfing destinations in France, let’s talk about Hossegor, one of the most emblematic surf spots in France, located in the Landes. There are the biggest stars of the board. The beaches of the North and La Gravière host international competitions. Impressive waves break there, which makes this spot a place for experienced surfers.
Anglet has gained quite an international reputation with its 11 surf spots. If you love waves go to Anglet at any time of the year and you will have a great time. In the Basque country, surfing is like an institution: we love surfing to appreciate the natural beauty of the ocean. The best known is the Little Room of Love. The spots for all levels are Marinella, la Petite Madrague, the Ocean. On the other hand, the intermediaries and the experienced ones will rather target the Club, the Sables d’Or, the Corsairs, the Dunes, the Cavaliers or the Barre.
The spots of Biarritz offer something to satisfy all types of surfers thanks to a large diversity of waves: short and powerful on the northern beaches, filtered at the Côte des Basques and longer in the south. Surf culture can also be found in the streets, shops, restaurants and the city’s tempo seems to be punctuated by the tides.
World famous, the beaches of Lacanau offer several surf spots with changing waves. The Barrier, the Lion, Jah Point, The Squirrel, the South, the Central, the North, the Alexander. These spots can also be very crowded: look for another peak nearby if there are already 4 or 5 surfers in the water.
This very technical spot offers a real challenge to experienced surfers. Not recommended for beginners, this spot allows surfing waves of 3 meters. Its difficulty then comes from the waves breaking behind the baïne. A baïne is a residual pond depression resembling a natural swimming pool formed between the coast and a sandbank. At low tide, the baïnes appear as a succession of regular cavities. A uninitiated may therefore find it difficult to reach the beach after a rising or falling tide at mid-tide!
Well known to the people of the Var, the immense Bonnegrace beach in Six-Fours (one kilometer long) is a good haunt for riders for surfing sessions on the Mediterranean Sea! On the famous (and beautifully named) Brutal Beach spot, surfers and longboarders go wild when the Mistral is at the rendezvous. The waves are easy there, the spot walks quite often but the crowds are high: it is better to know your priority rules! A few kilometers away is the seaside resort of Bandol, which offers a good spot near Anse de Renécros, which is more suitable for bodyboarding (presence of a reef).
40 kilometers from Marseille, you will find another land conducive to the expression of your talents! The spot of La Corniche, in Sausset-les-Pins, indeed offers hollow and tubular waves (breaking on a reef covered with pebbles) accessible to all. Perfect as a surf spot in the Mediterranean to let off steam on the board, especially as a nice swell can arise when the conditions are right.
Finally, an other spot to be clearly reserved for experienced surfers! Reputed indeed dangerous, the spot of Villefranche-sur-Mer offers a powerful straight line which can reach 2m-3m and which breaks violently, when the swell conditions are met. The current is strong, the launching is difficult, there is a reef and a cliff. In short, not a walk in the park but a great challenge for all those who think they will only find flat there!
The beach break at Palavas-Les-Flots is THE surf spot to be tested in the Mediterranean Sea for the quality of its waves, although irregular. But your patience will be rewarded! Prefer the spring / autumn period to have fun in the swell made in Languedoc-Roussillon. And keep your fingers crossed that the winds produce a good swell. One area is particularly worth discovering: the Roquilles beach, which has beautiful rights and lefts.
Ask a local in Vendée which place is one of the best surf spots in Vendée, he will surely answer you “Bud Bud”. This spot with a strange name is renowned for the power of its waves but also for being very practical for Parisian surfers. 4 hours from Paris, it is indeed the Sunday drop-off point for many surfers in the capital. A superb beach, a magnificent pine forest, tubular waves for several kilometers, this spot located in the town of Longeville-sur-Mer has nothing to envy to the Landes beachbreaks.
If you enjoyed this article on our 10 best surfing destinations in France, read more of our top 10 lists like the 10 most charming villages in France.
