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A fashionable sea resort since the end of the 19th century, Deauville has long been the destination for Parisians wishing to spend a week-end on the coast. The Normandy town is renown for its high living, but its most endearing quality is probably the unique wooden boardwalk along its beach.

Located only 206 km from Paris (229km via Rouen, 43 km from Caen, and 173 km from Mont Saint-Michel), this seaside town's growth came after the extension of the railroad line from the capital. Home to a population of 5,000 and located on the Channel, at the mouth of a small river (la Touques), it is famed for its marina harbor, luxurious hotels, casino, and race-track. These have turned Deauville into a major international meeting center, offering numerous conventions, salons, fairs, and seminars throughout the year, the most famous of which is September's American Film Festival (to which the town, in 1999, added an annual Asian Film Festival, which takes place in March).

Immediately West of the town is the Mont-Canisy, highest point of la Côte Fleurie, with its superb villas and lovely view of the Cap de la Hève to the Orne estuary. Cross the river to the East (over the pont des Belges) and you enter Trouville-sur-mer, Deauville's slightly-larger sister town and home to 19th-century painters of Normandy landscapes.

See town map