Le Verdon-sur-Mer Medoc, France
38
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Cunard (4 Cruises)
Holland America Line (6 Cruises)
Norwegian Cruise Line (5 Cruises)
Oceania Cruises (15 Cruises)
Oceania Sirena
7 Cruises
Princess Cruises (5 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
The quays are about three and a half kilometres from the village, with no regular bus service. Walking is not realistic: plan on an organised excursion or the shuttle laid on for call days.
At the tip of the Médoc, where the Gironde estuary opens onto the Atlantic. It is a threshold between river and ocean, in a landscape of water, dunes and pine forest.
It is the star of this call: a UNESCO World Heritage lighthouse nicknamed the Versailles of the sea. Set on a rocky platform in open water, its tower stacks a chapel and royal apartments one above the other.
By boat, on outings of roughly three hours departing from Le Verdon. Some packages include a tasting of local produce. It is one of the strongest images of a cruise along France's Atlantic coast.
Six kilometres away, Soulac lines up hundreds of ornate Belle Époque villas. The basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-des-Terres, a Romanesque sanctuary long buried under dune sand, was a stop for pilgrims heading to Compostela.
Yes, that is the call's other face. The Médoc peninsula holds roughly 1,500 wine estates, and wine excursions run the château route with tastings included.
Some tours offer it, but the drive from the point is long. Wine lovers do better sticking to Médoc estates, closer and more intimate, where the owner sometimes pours the glass himself.
Yes. From the Port Bloc landing, a ferry crosses the estuary to Royan in about twenty minutes. The crossing is worth it in itself, with Cordouan in the background and sandbanks breaking the surface.
It is the largest estuary system in western Europe, and sturgeon and eels still run up it. The mingled river and ocean water shapes shifting sandbanks, clearly visible from the ferry.
Yes, but everything depends on transport. Soulac's golden sand beach and the Royan ferry appeal to children; the Cordouan outing, three hours by boat, suits older ones better.
