France

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (known simply as Le Touquet) has been hugely fashionable since English uppercrusts started crossing the channel to holiday here 100 years ago. The elegant seaside resort is still posh and the wealthy set from Paris have come to join in the fun. Great beach, golf course, casinos and cafes.

Before the 20th century

The area now occupied by Le Touquet was little more than wind-swept coastal dunes and moorland until it was bought from the state by a couple of optimistic farmers in the early 19th century. Although the intended crops failed to grow, a forest was eventually established back from the coast and the area became a popular hunting ground. In 1876, the owner of the Paris newspaper Le Figaro saw the potential for a 'Paris by the Sea' resort, and began constructing a holiday town.

With strict building regulations on luxury hotels and cottages, the resort developed slowly but by the early 1900s British investors became involved and a casino and golf course were built, attracting high-spending cross-channel tourists and Parisian holidaymakers.

Modern history

In 1912 Le Touquet was granted an independent town charter (officially named Le Touquet-Paris-Plage), but frolicking by the sea abruptly halted with the outbreak of WWI, when British troops moved in and commandeered many buildings for a military camp and hospital.

Following the war, Le Touquet blossomed into one of northern France's most fashionable resorts thanks largely to rich British tourists and aristocracy. Literary wit Noel Coward was among the upper-class set spending weekends across the channel, while a bemused and politically oblivious author PG Wodehouse, who had built a villa here, was arrested by the Germans in 1940. The casino was a winner with the Brits - at one time it was said to be the most profitable in France.

During WWII the town was, for a time, occupied by the Germans; it was strewn with land mines and endured significant bombing. With careful post-war rebuilding, Le Touquet again recovered its posh reputation.

Recent history

While cheap flights to the sunny resorts of Spain or the south of France drained away some of the tourism, Le Touquet still holds its own as a fashionable resort, attracting discerning Brits as well as French holidaymakers - the opening of the Channel Tunnel was naturally a huge boon. Two casinos, a highly regarded golf course, a racecourse and a water park, along with several kilometres of sandy beachfront help pull the tourists. In February, the Enduro motorbike race through the sand dunes pulls the off-season crowds. The preservation of the town's 19th-century hotel architecture is impressive enough that the tourist office runs a guided tour.

Top Accommodation

Top Restaurants

On France's north coast and facing the English channel, Le Touquet is similar in climate to southern England. It gets a fair share of rain throughout the year, especially in winter months. The warm water of the North Atlantic drift ensures that winter temperatures don't plunge too low - while lingering in the single figures, temperatures rarely drop below freezing. Summers can be warm and humid, but expect windy conditions off the water which can keep conditions mild.

Average weather

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Transport

Getting around

Le Touquet is built around its long, sandy beach and the commercial thoroughfare rue St-Jean, so it's easy to get around on foot or by bicycle, which you can hire at plenty of spots around town. Taxis are widely available and local buses run out to Etaples, the main transport junction.

Getting there and away

Le Touquet is on the D119, 30km (18.6mi) south of Boulogne. The quickest route from Calais is via the A16 motorway. Regular cross-channel ferries link Dover in England with both Boulogne and Calais, or you can take your car on the Eurotunnel shuttle train from Folkestone to Calais in only 35min.

Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) has high-speed trains direct from London to Gare Calais-Fréthun. From Gare Calais-Ville station, take a train to Boulogne and another to Étaples-Le Touquet. Buses also take the Opal Coast road between Calais and Boulogne.

Le Touquet has a small airport with direct UK flights from Lydd (Kent) operated by Lyddair (www.lyddair.com), and Brighton, operated by Sky South (www.skysouth.co.uk).