Saint-Michel-Escalus: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Saint-Michel-Escalus is located in the landscape of Côte Landes Nature, shaped by maritime pines, along the Palue.

Finding a holiday apartment in Saint-Michel-Escalus can be part of planning your personal stay.

Nature

In the vicinity of Saint-Michel-Escalus, the Étang du Houa, designated as a sensitive natural area, encompasses the localities of Saint-Michel-Escalus, Vielle-Saint-Girons and Léon and covers 48.34 hectares. The Étang du Houa is freely accessible there without facilities; dogs are allowed on a leash, bicycles are permitted on the paths, and marked hiking trails are located nearby.

The Circuit du Bas-Rouge runs along the Palue through the Bas Rouge Nature40 area.

Culture and History

Following the merger of the former parishes of Saint-Michel and Escalus, Saint-Michel-Escalus has two churches. The Église Saint-Pierre d’Escalus was rebuilt at its present location after the former church near the Palue could no longer be used because of winter flooding, and Masses could no longer be celebrated there. Its neoclassical appearance comprises a single-nave hall with a flat-ended choir and an entrance structure crowned by a bell tower. The Puits Saint-Pierre is the only surviving part of the former church of Escalus.

The parish church of Saint-Michel is a single-nave building with a flat-ended choir and a broad, semicircular entrance structure. The Église Saint-Michel is classified as a historic monument and has a carved wooden pulpit. The Église St-Michel (de Gieure) is of Romanesque origin and features defensive loopholes and massive buttresses.

The Source Saint Antoine is located on the grounds of Huttopia Landes Sud at the edge of marshland and is easy to recognize by a large wooden cross. According to local tradition, the water from the spring is said to have healing properties for skin diseases; a local legend also tells of a shepherd named Bernard who aroused the spring’s anger.

A traditional Landes bergerie is considered a wooden agro-pastoral sheep building on an airial, with a three-sided roof and an opening to the east; it was used to house sheep during grazing or overwintering.

The weekend of the Tuc de Saint Michel around 29 September is celebrated as a traditional local festival with a Gascon cultural connection, music, dancing and chicken with onions.

Activities

Canoë Land offers a two-hour canoe or kayak trip on the Palue through a protected natural area classified as Natura 2000. Canoë Land is accessible to everyone and provides boats for one to three people, a shuttle bus, a snack bar and a picnic area.

Canoë du Pont Neuf has offered trips on the Palue since 1979, including a two-hour tour through a Natura 2000 area; on-site dining and picnic facilities are available.

Rando Quad offers one-hour guided quad bike rides on a fenced, 30-hectare woodland site without road traffic, following a half-hour introduction. Escape Land offers one-hour cooperative escape-game sessions for teams of three to five people in Saint-Michel-Escalus.

More local pages: Ychoux, Bias, Pomarez, Liposthey, Gastes, Taller, Ozourt, Hontanx

For the overarching travel overview: Landes.