Map of the Landes

Les Landes, a department located in the Southwest of France, is a prime destination for nature and cultural heritage lovers. With its endless beaches, vast forests, and exceptional historical sites, it is an ideal place for a vacation or a refreshing weekend getaway. To properly prepare your stay, nothing beats studying the Landes map to identify the must-see attractions. Follow us through the various aspects of this map.

The essentials of Landes in a few points

To better understand the geography of Landes and grasp the extent of its varied territory, we suggest focusing on these key elements:

• Area: Landes is the second largest department in France, with an area of nearly 9,243 km².
• Relief: The terrain is mainly flat, with a slight slope towards the West and the Atlantic Ocean.
• Coasts: Along the ocean, the Silver Coast has about 106 km of fine sandy beaches.
• Rivers: Three main rivers cross the department: the Adour, the Midouze, and the Leyre.
• Forest: Landes is mainly covered by the Landes de Gascogne forest, which extends over more than one million hectares.

What do you need to know about the Landes department?

In the Aquitaine region, there is the department 40 called Landes. This department is divided into several administrative districts, including: 3 legislative constituencies, 15 cantons, 18 intercommunalities, and 327 communes. Landes currently has 413,690 inhabitants and the area of department 40 is 9,242.60 km².

Geographically, the 40th department is the second largest department in France if Gironde is the first. Moreover, the Landes department is divided into two territories: the Pays de l’Adour and the Landes de Gascogne. The population density per km² in Landes is 45/km².

Located in the northern part of France, department 40 is a department that is commonly part of what is called the Atlantic Midi. Administratively, its region is Nouvelle-Aquitaine and this department is one of the 83 oldest departments in the country. The capital and at the same time the prefecture of this department is Mont-de-Marsan and the sub-prefecture is called Dax.

What are the neighboring departments of the Landes department?

Since the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region is the parent region of department 40, its neighboring departments are: the Gironde department, the Gers department, the Lot-et-Garonne department, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. Furthermore, the Landes department is also bordered by the Atlantic Ocean along approximately 106 km of coastline with high dunes.

Cities not to be missed

The Landes map is full of charming towns and villages, each offering its own heritage. Here is a list of the main cities you can discover there:

1. Mont-de-Marsan: Prefecture of the department, this city is known for its lush rivers and interesting museums such as the Despiau-Wlérick Museum and the Saint Maur Powder Mill.
2. Dax: A city famous for its thermal baths and establishments specialized in thermal treatments, it will also delight history enthusiasts with its preserved historic center and archaeological crypt.
3. Hossegor: Renowned for its beaches and international surfing competitions, this seaside resort attracts lovers of water sports and relaxation.
4. Biscarrosse: Situated between ocean, lakes, and forests, this emblematic town of the Landes offers activities for all tastes: lounging, water sports, forest walks…

What is the climate like in the Landes department?

First, the winter periods can lead to heavy snowfall, especially in the eastern section of department 40. On the other hand, spring periods are cool and rainy, and finally, summer periods are very hot and sometimes very stormy.

This could cause a lot of rainfall and extreme drops in temperature. Lastly, autumn periods are also rainy and sometimes accompanied by frost.

Regarding temperatures, in the center of the department, the average temperature is 6 °C (at the beginning of the year) and during the winter periods, that is in July, temperatures hover around 15 °C.

The highest recorded temperatures in the department are -21 °C for the coldest and 39.8 °C in the shade for the hottest.

Regarding rainfall in the department, it amounts to 700 mm of annual precipitation in other regions, while on the western and southern coasts, precipitation is 1,300 mm annually. Compared to the fact that department 40 is very humid during winter, summers are hot and dry.

What are the most important cities in the Landes department?

Here are the most populated cities in the Landes department, meaning the cities with the highest number of inhabitants per km2.

• Saint-Paul-lès-Dax,
• Mont-de-Marsan,
• Biscarrosse,
• Tarnos,
• Capbreton,
• Soustons,
• Mimizan,
• Dax,
• Saint-Pierre-du-Mont,
• Aire-sur-l’Adour,
• Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse

What are the largest municipalities in the Landes department?

For this ranking, we have chosen the 10 largest municipalities in the Landes department:

• Biscarrosse
• Luxey
• Pissos
• Rion-des-Landes
• Lit-et-Mixe
• Sabres
• Sore
• Onesse-Laharie
• Mimizan
• Parentis-en-Born

For this ranking, we have chosen the municipalities with the highest population densities. So, here are the 10 most populated municipalities in the Landes department:

• Mont-de-Marsan
• Saint-Paul-lès-Dax
• Tarnos
• Soustons
• Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse
• Dax
• Biscarrosse
• Saint-Pierre-du-Mont
• Capbreton
• Mimizan