There you can explore a 2.5 kilometer beach lined with dunes and forests. This scenic expanse offers a variety of activities, including fishing, surfing, body boarding and windsurfing. Don't miss the historic blockhouses that line the shore.
Forming a transitional space between the sandy coves and cliffs that characterize the surroundings of Royan, from Meschers-sur-Gironde to the tip of Terre-Nègre, and the vast straight expanse of the wild coast, exposed to the furious assaults of the ocean, the Grande-Côte presents itself as a large beach of fine sand, edged with dunes planted with pine trees. Overlooking the mouth of the Gironde and the Atlantic Ocean, it is often subject to a strong swell, taken advantage of by many surfers in the region. If the phenomena of rip currents are absent, strong currents require a certain amount of caution. The Grande-Côte is divided into 4 sectors: the beach of the Grande-Côte itself, the beaches of Combots and Lède, both partly naturist (over a length of 800 meters) and the beach of Pins de Cordouan. The Grande-Côte stretches from the tip of the Grande-Côte (Saint-Palais-sur-Mer) to the bay of Bonne Anse (La Palmyre, commune of Les Mathes). A vast, straight expanse bordered by a dune line and a pine forest, the Combots d'Ansoine forest (La Coubre massif), it announces, by its configuration and its geomorphological characteristics, the beaches of the Côte Sauvage and the Côte d'Argent. Its northwest/southeast orientation, however, differentiates it from the latter, which face due west. Less exposed to the swell, it is nonetheless occasionally subject to strong waves and rollers, which make it a favorite spot for surfers. Outside of the summer period, sports such as sand yachting are also practiced there. The site of the tip of the Grande-Côte, accessible from the city center by a wide avenue doubled by a cycle path, is a prime tourist site, where souvenir shops, bars, restaurants and fast food restaurants are located. Several parking areas have been set up there. It is a stopover on the EuroVelo 1 cycle route, a European route linking Norway to Portugal, known in its French part as the "Vélodyssée". Its section between the Grande-Côte and Ronce-les-Bains has been developed into a greenway, on a dedicated site for nearly thirty kilometers: the greenway from Ronce-les-Bains to Saint-Palais-sur-Mer thus goes back up towards La Palmyre and crosses part of the Arvert peninsula.
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