Deauville & Trouville Beach Promenade

Deauville and Trouville-sur-Mer face each other across the mouth of the Touques river on the Calvados Côte Fleurie coast of Normandy, France, connected by a road bridge and seasonal pedestrian ferry. Deauville was created from scratch as a fashionable resort in the 1860s under Napoleon III, and retains its aura of moneyed Parisian elegance. Its signature feature is Les Planches, the 643-metre boardwalk promenade along the broad, flat beach, flanked by rows of blue and white changing cabins each painted with the name of a film star. The Deauville horse-racing courses host prestigious August thoroughbred meetings and international yearling sales. The Casino Barrière de Deauville, an Art Deco building from 1912 on the seafront, is a Normandy landmark. The Deauville American Film Festival in early September has screened films and welcomed American directors since 1975. Trouville, founded as a resort a decade earlier than Deauville, has a more lived-in character: a working fish market on the quay, a lively seafront with fin-de-siècle hotels, and an excellent beach less dominated by private clubs and parasols. The Trouville fish market on the quayside sells fresh catch daily, making it an excellent breakfast or lunch stop. Both towns have maintained much of their Belle Époque architecture. A half-day covers both resorts including the boardwalk, market, and seafront; a full day adds the race course and casino visits.