The Beaches of France – French Story & English Translation

Author: Camille Chevalier-Karfis

I love to be by the sea. I’m lucky since in France, we have so many seas! Let’s learn the French beach vocabulary and practice with this bilingual story & video.

La France est entourĂ©e de quatre mers : en commençant depuis le haut Ă  droite, Ă  cĂŽtĂ© de la Belgique, on trouve la mer du Nord. Puis la Manche borde toute la cĂŽte normande et le nord de la cĂŽte bretonne. Enfin, vient l’ocĂ©an Atlantique pour toute la cĂŽte ouest française. Et puis finalement, de l’autre cĂŽtĂ©, en bas Ă  droite, la chaude mer MĂ©diterranĂ©e. Et tout cela sans compter les territoires outre-mer, ni la Corse !

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

France is surrounded by four seas: starting from the top right next to Belgium, there is the North Sea. Then the Channel borders the entire Normandy coast and north coast of Brittany. Then comes the Atlantic Ocean for the entire French West Coast. And finally, on the other side, to the lower right, the warm Mediterranean Sea. And all this without counting the overseas territories or Corsica!

Avec ses 3427 km de cĂŽtes, la France est un endroit idĂ©al pour aller passer des vacances au bord de la mer. Mais il faut bien choisir sa destination, car les plages sont trĂšs diffĂ©rentes d’une rĂ©gion Ă  l’autre.

With its 3427 km of coastline, France is a great place to spend a holiday by the sea. But you have to choose your destination carefully because the beaches are very different from one region to another.

Nous commencerons notre tour par le nord-est, depuis la frontiĂšre belge.

We begin our tour through the northeast, from the Belgian border.

1 – French Beach Videos

I’m lucky to live in Brittany, France and I swim and snorkel a lot! So I did many “everyday spoken French” videos for my FrenchToday’s Youtube channel  (subscribe so you never miss a video!). Enjoy!

2 – The Beaches of the Northern Coastline of France

La cÎte nord de la France se caractérise par de larges plages de sable et des dunes de sable, puis des falaises de craie entrecoupées de petits ports et plages de galets (pierres arrondies par la mer) ou de sable. Lorsque nous arrivons en baie de Somme, le paysage change complÚtement : les plages sont plates et longues, sableuses. Il y a des dunes et des prés salés.

The northern coast of France is characterized by wide sandy beaches, sand dunes, and chalk cliffs interspersed with small ports and pebble beaches (rounded stones by sea) or sand. When we arrive in the Somme Bay, the landscape changes completely: the beaches are flat, long and sandy. There are dunes and salt meadows.

Les falaises blanches rĂ©apparaissent Ă  la frontiĂšre de la Normandie, avec par exemple la cĂ©lĂšbre falaise Étretat.

The white cliffs reappear on the border of Normandy, with for example the famous cliffs of Etretat.

AprĂšs le grand port maritime du Havre, la cĂŽte normande est trĂšs variĂ©e : grandes plages de sable, falaises basses et plages de galets. C’est le site du historique DĂ©barquement, qui continue jusqu’à la presqu’üle du Cotentin. Il y a aussi de nombreuses stations balnĂ©aires apprĂ©ciĂ©es des Français comme des touristes (Honfleur, Deauville, Cabourg
)

After the great sea port of Le Havre, the Normandy coast is very diverse: large sandy beaches, low cliffs and pebble beaches. There is the historic D-day site, which continues until the Cotentin peninsula . There are also many resorts popular with French people as well as tourists (Honfleur, Deauville, Cabourg
 )

À Moi Paris Audiobook Method

A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers.

(728 Reviews)

More Details & Audio Samples

La pointe nord du Cotentin est rocheuse, avec des falaises de granit et de plages de sable fin, un peu comme les Ăźles Anglo-Normandes qui sont juste en face. À l’ouest de la presqu’üle du Cotentin, nous arrivons Ă  la majestueuse baie du Mont-Saint-Michel et ses rivages plats, et nous passons de la Normandie Ă  la Bretagne.

The northern tip of the Cotentin peninsula is rocky, with granite cliffs and sandy beaches, much like the Channel Islands, which are just in front of it. To the west of the Cotentin peninsula, we come to the majestic bay of Mont-Saint-Michel and its flat shores, as we go from Normandy to Brittany.

LĂ  encore, tout change ; la cĂŽte devient accidentĂ©e et est caractĂ©risĂ©e par ses rochers de granite, ses petits ports de pĂȘche et ses petites plages de sable. Mais tout ne se ressemble pas, et la diversitĂ© des paysages se reflĂšte dans les noms des cĂŽtes de cette rĂ©gion : CĂŽte de Jade, CĂŽte d’Émeraude, CĂŽte de Granit Rose ou CĂŽte Sauvage


Again, everything changes; the coast is rugged and is characterized by its rocks of granite, small fishing ports and its small sandy beaches. But everything doesn’t look alike, and landscape diversity is reflected in the names of the coasts of this region: Jade Coast, Emerald Coast , Pink Granite Coast or Wild Coast 


Nous arrivons au point le plus Ă  l’ouest, le FinistĂšre (“fin de terre”), souvent Ă©galement appelĂ© par les enfants “le nez” de la France Ă  cause de sa ressemblance avec un nez. Ici, nous trouvons de grandes falaises rocheuses. AprĂšs, au sud de la Bretagne, la cĂŽte du Morbihan se caractĂ©rise par ses plages de sable fin.

We reach the most westerly point, the FinistĂšre (end of land), often also called by the children “the nose” of France because of its resemblance to a nose. Here we find large rocky cliffs. further along, in the south of Brittany, the Morbihan coast is characterized by sand beaches.

À noter : la cĂŽte bretonne est la plus influencĂ©e par les marĂ©es, et il y a une Ă©norme diffĂ©rence entre la marĂ©e haute et la marĂ©e basse.

Note: The Brittany coast is most influenced by the tides, and there is a huge difference between high tide and low tide .

3 – The Beaches of the Atlantic Coast of France

Entre la Loire et la Gironde, la cĂŽte atlantique de la France est composĂ©e de longues plages de sable: c’est ici qu’on trouve les stations balnĂ©aires de la VendĂ©e, des Deux-SĂšvres et de la Charente maritime telles que La Rochelle, Les Sables-d’Olonne ou Royan. Et bien entendu, les Ăźles de RĂ© et de Noirmoutier, trĂšs populaires pour les vacances.

Between the Loire and the Gironde, the Atlantic coast of France is made up of long sandy beaches. It is here that we find the seaside resorts of the VendĂ©e, Deux -SĂšvres and Charente Maritime such as La Rochelle, Les Sables-d’Olonne or Royan. And of course, the islands of RĂ© and Noirmoutier, quite popular for holidays.

La cĂŽte atlantique est plate : les plages souvent bordĂ©es de dunes avec parfois des forĂȘts de pins : il y a beaucoup de stations balnĂ©aires, mais c’est aussi une rĂ©gion agricole oĂč l’on cultive les huĂźtres. C’est aussi une rĂ©gion trĂšs apprĂ©ciĂ©e des surfeurs, et des gens qui font de la planche Ă  voile, du kitesurf et aussi du vĂ©lo.

The Atlantic coast is flat: the beaches are often bordered with dunes and sometimes with pine forests. There are a lot of resorts, but it is also an agricultural region where they grow oysters. It is also a popular area for surfers and people that windsurf, kitesurf and also cycle.

Au sud de la Gironde, jusqu’à la frontiĂšre espagnole, la cĂŽte atlantique française est longue et assez peu frĂ©quentĂ©e – en dehors de quelques villes touristiques comme Arcachon ou Biarritz
  La cĂŽte offre de trĂšs longues plages de sable, bordĂ©es de dunes et de la forĂȘt des Landes qui vient jusqu’au bord de mer. Souvent, la plage est accessible uniquement par des petits chemins Ă  travers la forĂȘt.  À l’entrĂ©e de la baie d’Arcachon, la dune du Pyla est la plus haute dune de sable d’Europe – plus de 300 m de haut, et prĂšs de 3 km de long.

South of the Gironde to the Spanish border, the French Atlantic coast is long and pretty uncrowded – apart from some tourist towns such as Biarritz and Arcachon or Biarritz
 The coast offers very long sandy beaches lined with dunes and the Landes forest coming to the seashore. Often the beach is only accessible by small paths through the forest. At the entrance to the Bay of Arcachon, the Dune of Pyla is Europe’s highest sand dune – over 300 meters high and nearly 3 km long.

4 – The Beaches of the Mediterranean Coast of France

La cĂŽte sud de la France est constituĂ©e de deux parties assez diffĂ©rentes : d’un cĂŽtĂ© la partie Ă  l’ouest du RhĂŽne (cĂŽte du Languedoc), et de l’autre cĂŽtĂ© la cĂŽte Ă  l’est du RhĂŽne (Provence-CĂŽte d’Azur).

The south coast of France has two quite different parts: on one side the west of the Rhone ( Languedoc coast ), and on the other side the east of the Rhone (Provence-CĂŽte d’Azur).

À l’exception de la cĂŽte du Roussillon, la cĂŽte est plate avec de longs kilomĂštres de plages de sable : mais comme la MĂ©diterranĂ©e n’a pas de marĂ©es, ces plages de sable fin ne sont gĂ©nĂ©ralement pas aussi larges que celles de la cĂŽte atlantique. GĂ©nĂ©ralement, la tempĂ©rature de l’eau est plus chaude sur la cĂŽte mĂ©diterranĂ©enne que sur la cĂŽte atlantique.

With the exception of the Roussillon coast, the coast is flat with long kilometers of sandy beaches, but as the Mediterranean has no tides, the sandy beaches are generally not as large as those of the Atlantic coast. Generally, the temperature of the water is warmer on the Mediterranean coast then on the Atlantic coast.

Autour du delta du Rhîne, entre la Camargue et Marseille, la cîte n’est pas particuliùrement touristique, principalement à cause des immenses ports maritimes de Fos et de Marseille. Mais à l’est de Marseille, c’est une autre histoire


Around the delta of the Rhone, between the Camargue and Marseille, the coast is not particularly touristy, mainly because of the huge sea ports of Fos and Marseille. But East of Marseille, it’s another story


C’est ici que commencent la cĂŽte provençale et la CĂŽte d’Azur, cĂŽte rocheuse caractĂ©risĂ©e par ses petites criques, ses plages de galets ou de sable fin, et ses paysages grandioses. Remarquons que beaucoup de plages sont des plages de galets, comme la cĂ©lĂšbre plage de Nice le long de la la baie des Anges.

It is here that begin the coast of Provence and the French Riviera, characterized by its rocky coast coves, pebbly or sandy beaches, and its gorgeous landscapes. Please, note that many  beaches are pebble beaches, as the famous Nice beach on the Bay of Angels.

Cette partie de la cĂŽte française comporte le plus grand nombre de stations balnĂ©aires cĂ©lĂšbres : Saint-Tropez, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Saint-RaphaĂ«l, Cannes, Nice, et la liste continue
 Cette cĂŽte est trĂšs populaire en Ă©tĂ©, et il faut rĂ©server son hĂŽtel – ou camping – des mois Ă  l’avance.

This part of the French coast has the greatest number of famous seaside resorts: Saint-Tropez , Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Saint -RaphaĂ«l, Cannes, Nice and the list goes on
 This coast is very popular in summer; you have to book your hotel – or camping – months in advance.

Alors : “Quelles sont les plus belles plages de France ?”  Laissez un commentaire et dites-moi ce que vous en pensez !

Then: ” What are the most beautiful beaches in France? ” Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

If you enjoy learning French in context, check out French Today’s downloadable French audiobooks: French Today’s bilingual novels are recorded at different speeds and enunciation, and focus on today’s modern glided pronunciation. 

You’ll find exclusive mini lessons, tips, pictures and more everyday on French Today’s Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages – so join me there!

Author: Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Born and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 23+ years in the US and France. Based on my students' goals and needs, I've created unique downloadable French audiobooks focussing on French like it's spoken today, for all levels. Most of my audiobooks are recorded at several speeds to help you conquer the modern French language. Good luck with your studies and remember, repetition is the key!

More Articles from Camille Chevalier-Karfis

Comments

DOWNLOAD YOUR FRENCH AUDIOBOOK
🎁 2.5 Hours French Audiobook - 100% Free / Keep Forever 🎁

Recorded at 3 different speeds + Study Guide + Q&A + Full Transcript

Item added to cart.
0 items - US$0.00

Can You Understand Today’s Spoken French?

It’s not just slang. The French everybody speaks in France today is NOT the overly enunciated, extremely formal French usually taught to foreigners.

TAKE YOUR FREE AUDIO TEST NOW