A summer on the Pilat dune: in the cabin village, the challenge of moving upmarket
No more cheap souvenirs and bath towels: at the foot of the Pilat dune, local authorities have completely overhauled the village of cabins, a commercial space where, since 2023, short supply chains and quality have been the standard. A gamble, on such a popular site, which last year saw 1.2 million visitors
Late morning, in the first half of August, at the foot of the Pilat dune , in La Teste-de-Buch. This holidaymaker walks briskly, dissuading his group from stopping in front of the cabins before starting the climb. "It's a tourist thing here, don't dream!": A lawsuit for excessive prices and poor quality dispatched in one sentence. Implacable caution is often de rigueur at the seaside, but not really here, in the cabin village, this commercial space subject to a vast "requalification" between 2021 and 2023, in the "spirit of the place".
Because even though the Dune of Pilat, as remarkable as it is, does not yet bear the Grand Site de France label, the joint association that manages it has pushed the envelope by committing €2.2 million excluding tax to the rehabilitation of the 30-year-old reception village. Renovation of the wooden cabins, repair of the pathways using crushed oyster shells, but also a complete overhaul of the commercial offering. Down with "made in China" souvenirs, in favor of short supply chains, a positioning made a priority in the 2020 calls for tenders . As a presumed guarantee of this new requirement, the number of establishments has dropped from twelve to eight. Even the vocabulary used is not misleading: we are talking about "cultural shops," and not just - simple - souvenirs.
Franck Perrogon/SO Archives
Quentin Salinier/SO
The result? Visually, it lives up to the stated ambitions. The cabins blend into the landscape, without fuss or flashy colors. Better still, reaching out to the lucky winners—nearly 100 applications were received—is a sure way to meet entrepreneurs proud of their products. Like Petra Skufca, who runs the Yum Yum ice cream parlor. The ice creams are organic and, as much as possible, vegan, favoring oat and rice milk over cow's milk, even if it means teaching them, "when there isn't a queue all the way to the tree," she smiles.
Quentin Salinier/SO
The same high standards are shared by Paloma Fajarnes, at the counter of Sens de la Dune, one of the two "cultural" boutiques. From the highly sought-after vintage postcard to the soap, "everything is local," she guarantees, in a department that extends "as far as Villenave-d'Ornon and Bordeaux." Perhaps anecdotal, but revealing of the new direction taken in the village: when winter comes, she herself makes elegant oyster and pine cone wax candles.
Quentin Salinier/SO
Quentin Salinier/SO
As for the restaurant, there's no mistaking it, whether it's the generous fries served at Oyster & Tapas, the restaurant owned by Arnaud Lafon, a partner with his daughters Marina and Léa, which focuses on charcuterie, or the two snack bars. In the shade, Delphine, from Rennes, and her three daughters Laurine, Joanne, and Solène, bite into thick sandwiches. "I was just saying the bread was good quality," says their mother. Further along, Nicolas and Sophie, from Albertville (Savoie), and their sons Lucas and Hugo have nothing to complain about their meal of ham and butter sandwiches, chicken curry, and hot dogs with fried onions. "We come here almost every year, today we hadn't planned anything for lunch." No regrets.
"We have to find a happy medium between the ranges offered and the spirit of the site. Judging by the feedback, the bet has paid off."
An obvious move upmarket that should not obscure the popular roots of the dune: while the site has around 2 million visits per year , the access staircase via the village of cabins recorded exactly 1,123,908 people in 2024. Owner of Snack de la Dune, Éric Lamarens, who also runs the Aiguillon bakery in Arcachon, assures that he is ensuring this, notably with an organic ham and butter sandwich at a starting price of €5.50. Nothing to be ashamed of "compared to mediocre products on the beach," he sighs. The same goes for the ice cream maker: "We try to cover the whole price range, especially when there is a family," adds Petra Skufca, whose vanilla-flavored Italian ice cream starts at €4.50.
“It was necessary to be rigorous”President of the Grande Dune du Pilat joint association (and mayor of Audenge), Nathalie Le Yondre advocates the "promotion of local products" that has been at work since the opening of the new-generation village. "We could have decided to have fewer services [the hypothesis of a "renaturation" of the site was on the table when the private plots that made up the site were acquired, Editor's note] but, on the contrary, we chose to rehabilitate the shops. There is an economic dimension to take into account and we must find a happy medium between the ranges offered and the spirit of the site. In view of the feedback, the bet has been won." And to refute in passing the expression "upmarket": "We are really looking at it from the perspective of promotion," she counters.
The joint union, which collects a royalty based on the turnover of the traders (the equivalent of rent, the cabins being the subject of a temporary occupation agreement ranging from seven to ten years), also has a right to review the menus and products: "We need an affordable price range, we are on a family site," considers Nathalie Le Yondre.
Éric Lamarens welcomes the turnaround taken by the joint union: "We needed to be more rigorous," he adds. But the baker and owner of Snack de la Dune is concerned about seeing his sales decline over the past three years. "We lost 20% in July." This is due to the decline in purchasing power, but also, he regrets, to a lack of visibility. "It was in the specifications: there is no display case at the counter. You must not see any products, either from outside the hut or inside. But people need to see what they are eating before they step forward. There will have to be more listening," he hopes. All that remains is to summon the "spirit" of the dune.
