Le Touquet: the chic of the Opal Coast

With its eclectic mix of architectural styles, casinos and institutional hotels and restaurants, Le Touquet has retained the elegance that made it one of the great seaside resorts of the early 20th century. But the resort also has a knack for renewing its range of sporting activities to discover the wild character of the Opal Coast and its endless beaches.
By Olivier Darmon -
The beaches of the north, endless under old pink skies fringed with pearl grey, once enchanted the great Colette and inspired many painters, charmed by the ever-changing light of the Opal Coast.
The beaches of the north, endless under old pink skies fringed with pearl grey, once enchanted the great Colette and inspired many painters, charmed by the ever-changing light of the Opal Coast.

Report Olivier Darmon, photos Alain Parinet.

DAY 1: Check-in at the hotel. Beach activities. Dinner at Pérard

The hotel: Holiday Inn Resort

Holiday Inn Resort
Holiday Inn Resort Hotel

À On the edge of the forest, and less than ten minutes' walk from the centre of Le Touquet, the establishment stretches out lengthways under a vast central glass roof that floods its public areas with generous amounts of natural light. Built in the 1980s, its design, on just two levels, suggests the atmosphere of an ocean liner moored in greenery. The 88 contemporary rooms come in a variety of configurations, some with mezzanine floors and others with garden terraces. The two restaurants and the bar open out onto the garden. Eight lounges ranging from 21 m² to 143 m². Large, pleasant heated indoor swimming pool, fitness room, outdoor tennis court.
Av. Maréchal Foch, Le Touquet Paris-Plage - Tel: 03 21 06 85 85
Email : hotel@holidayinnletouquet.com - Internet : www.holidayinnletouquet.com

Alternative: The Westminster

The Westminster
Hôtel Le Westminster

À 500 metres from the beach, the hotel entrance is designed as a stage overlooking Avenue du Verger, the local Champs-Élysées. The last survivor of the great Paris-Plage hotels of the Belle Époque, the hotel has preserved its Art Deco appearance. The conciergerie, wood panelling and light fittings have been carefully preserved, as have the elegant twin lifts with their wrought-iron railings, the volutes of which form a W. Inaugurated in 1924 and now part of the Barrière group, the "West" has welcomed all the celebrities who have passed through, including Winston Churchill, the Aga Khan, Marlène Dietrich and the Prince of Wales. Autographed photos of jet-setters from the Golden Twenties line the ground floor corridor leading to the two restaurants: Le Pavillon, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and the brasserie Les Cimaises, both under the leadership of chef William Elliott. The design of the 115 rooms and suites blends contemporary refinement with retro charm, while retaining a few period features. 10 meeting rooms, including three modular rooms (125 m² - 350 m²) and a 356 m² reception area. Spa, indoor swimming pool.
Av. du Verger, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage - Tel: 03 21 05 48 48
Email : reservations@westminster.fr - Internet : www.westminster.fr

Longe-côte: walking on water

On the beach at low tide, groups of coastal lanyards enthusiasts in neoprene wetsuits can be seen in the distance in the waves. This little-known sport, born in the region in 2005, is just beginning to take off. "This is a walk lasting around 1? hours with water between the waist and the chest., explains Alexandre Korbas, president of the local club and French champion in the discipline. You can use webbed gloves, a paddle or go bare-handed. This activity uses all the muscles of the arms and legs, and also develops breath and balance, while producing a toning effect like thalassotherapy in the open sea. For safety's sake, we walk in single file, which is both friendly and reinforces the cohesion of the group. If we fall into a tarpaulin, i.e. the baïnes du Nord, we help each other out immediately." The Centre Nautique organises outings for groups.
Centre Nautique de la Manche Bertrand Lambert
Boulevard Pouget. 62 520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
Tel: 03 21 05 33 51 - Email: charavoile@letouquet.com
Internet: letouquetnautisme.com

Institution: shellfish and crustaceans

Pérard
Restaurant Pérard

À Close to the 1930s covered market, Pérard has been Le Touquet's must-visit fish and seafood restaurant for half a century. Far from resting on its laurels, the institution has diversified its tasting options by opening an oyster bar and, more recently, a 52-seat area under a glass roof dedicated exclusively to grilled meats. In the main dining room adjoining the fishmonger's, you can enjoy the famous homemade fish soup and the catch of the day in a lively brasserie atmosphere, with walls lined with newspaper cartoons. A tribute to the freshness of the product. A faultless experience.
Pérard 67, Rue de Metz 62520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
Telephone: +33 (0)3 21 05 13 33
Internet: www.perard-letouquet.fr

DAY 2: Sports à la carte. Cultural discovery. Casino night.

Wakeboarding: thrills and spills

The Le Touquet water sports centre boasts one of the largest wakeboard pools in Europe. Towed by a cable at speeds of up to 35km/h, riders move around the water where various jumping ramps have been installed. An introduction to this unforgettable sport that combines the techniques of water skiing, snowboarding and skateboarding. Open from Easter to All Saints' Day.
Internet: letouquetwakepark.com

Sand yachting: sporty driving on the water

Lightweight and highly responsive, sand yachting offers a great sense of acceleration, hurtling along the endless beaches of the Opal Coast at speeds of over 40km/h.
Lightweight and highly responsive, sand yachting offers a great sense of acceleration, hurtling along the endless beaches of the Opal Coast at speeds of over 40km/h.

You don't have to be a daredevil to try out sand yachting. Once you've donned the wetsuit and helmet provided by the club, half an hour is all it takes to learn the basics. All that's left is to set off on your adventure, albeit carefully. The introductory floats hardly exceed 45 km/h, but the impression of speed is multiplied by the semi-recumbent driving position. "It's a fun way to discover the surrounding areasays Gabriel Valat, head of the sailing centre and European sand yachting champion. With a favourable wind, you can reach Berck, nine kilometres away. For team buildings, we organise speed contests with radar measurement.." If there's no wind, the centre offers a whole range of activities to discover the Bay of the Canche.
Centre Nautique de la Manche Bertrand Lambert
Boulevard Pouget. 62 520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.
Tel: 03 21 05 33 51 - Email: charavoile@letouquet.com
Internet: letouquetnautisme.com

Casino night: in the footsteps of James Bond

Gambling thrills and 007 atmosphere at the Partouche casino.
Gambling thrills and 007 atmosphere at the Partouche casino.

Casino night is a chance for groups to experience the thrill of poker in a legendary setting. Just cross the large gaming room and immerse yourself in the sound and light of the slot machines to join the hushed atmosphere of the poker room and enter the world of fiction... In 1952, when Ian Fleming wrote his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, he peppered his novel with references to Le Touquet as he evoked the imaginary seaside resort of Royale-les-Eaux where part of the action takes place. The same applies in Her Majesty's Secret Service when he describes the sumptuous art deco swimming pool on the seafront, which was sadly demolished in 1980. In fact, Ian Fleming was a regular visitor to the resort, as we are reminded by a photo hanging in the gallery of the Westminster Hotel with this dedication: "Sometimes I'm east, sometimes I'm West". "Sometimes I'm east, sometimes I'm west". Since then, the shadow of the dandy writer has hung over the city. And for James Bond fans, it's a foregone conclusion: Agent 007 was 'born' in Le Touquet!
Casino des Quatre Saisons
26 rue Saint Jean. 62 520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.
Tel: 03 21 05 16 99 - Internet : www.casinoletouquet.com

Patchwork: architecture in all its forms

  • On the seafront or nestling in the forest, almost 2,000 villas add to the resort's charm.
  • The Tata Ice villa, designed like others by H. Pouillet.
  • Le Touquet town hall, in the English Gothic style.
  • The covered market, built in the 1930s.
In its heyday, Le Touquet was a sort of Dubai, providing visitors with an architectural slap in the face! Not on the scale of futuristic skyscrapers, but on that of detached houses. The town boasts some 2,000 villas, most of them built between the end of the 19th and 20th centuries.e century and the 1930s. Architects vied with each other to offer their wealthy clients unique buildings in eclectic styles: Anglo-Norman, Flemish or Tudor, or even medieval, as in the Swiss Village, a group of three buildings announced by the profile of a fortified castle with a corner turret and crenellated ramparts.

DAY 3: City tour and cookery workshop, followed by gourmet lunch. Train to Paris

Restaurant: an instructive stopover

Restaurant L'Escale
Restaurant L'Escale

Chef Jean-Marc Carelle doesn't really like to programme the courses he runs. "I prefer to improvise with what's in the fridge", he explains. Today's dish includes salmon carpaccio with Thai basil, half-cooked with vegetables sautéed raw. The flavours, crunchiness and softness are a delight to the taste buds. But the best part of his talk, for a maximum of 20 participants, is also the way he talks about his experiences all over the world, successively in the kitchens of the Orient Express, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary, then in Atlanta and Saint Barth. Back home, this native of the region now runs L'Escale, the legendary restaurant at the resort's airport, opened in 1936. The setting is unique. The 160-cover dining room has a panoramic view and can be reserved for private customers. The terrace overlooks the tarmac, dotted with private planes and old-fashioned cuckoos. The site is ideal for gala evenings, with no risk of disturbing the neighbours. For this type of reception, Jean-Marc Carelle offers a series of Ateliers evenings. These consist of buffets dedicated to foreign cuisines or specific products such as foie gras, and provide an opportunity to chat with the chef and his brigade.

The Paris-Plage utopia

  • On the Canche estuary, Etaples-sur-Mer, the "city of fishermen".
  • The lighthouse offers a beautiful view of the resort.
  • The racecourse, in the chic yet leafy district.
  • A colony of seals in Authie Bay. Olivier Caenen
So much water! As you stroll along the boulevard de la mer by bicycle or gyro-pod, you realise that Le Touquet has much more sea frontage than you might imagine, looking out over the English Channel of course, with the English coast visible on a clear day, but also over the Canche estuary. Like any resort created from scratch, Le Touquet is a kind of utopia come true, an ideal town in tune with the growing attraction for seaside activities from the mid-19th century onwards.e century. Its promoters, who came up with the name Paris-Plage - a brilliant way of making an impression - intended to dedicate the site to sport and well-being, but also to frivolity and luxury, the superfluous necessities for the target clientele. Hence the two casinos as well as a museum, a handful of art galleries and a flurry of restaurants and fashion boutiques... All of which liven up the small shopping streets in the town centre, lined with pastel-coloured houses. The panorama from the lighthouse reveals the resort's two urban forms. On the English Channel side, an octagonal plan creating surprising openings to the sea at every junction and, 500 metres inland, a forest that exudes serenity. A green town before its time, planted with pines, oaks and other species to complete the attractions of the site, but also to fix the sand of the dunes. Here, the geometry is softened into undulating avenues. The plots are larger, the public roads lined with footpaths and bridleways, and it's here that the high points of the "entre-soi", tennis courts, golf courses and racecourses, are located. The names of the villas exude the Anglomania of the Belle Epoque and recall that it was a Briton, John Whitley, who was the most powerful investor in Le Touquet at the beginning of the twentieth century.e century.

  • Gainsbourg's passage recalls Flavio's memories.
  • Serge Gainsbourg © DR

 

THOSE INVOLVED IN THE OPERATION

TRANSPORT > The SNCF serves Le Touquet from Paris Gare du Nord with at least five direct daily return trips. Journey time: 2h30.
Internet: www.sncf.com
ORGANISATION > Touquet Club Entreprise/Business Tourism. Sylvie Grunyk.
Le Touquet Tourisme. 62 520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.
Tel: 03 21 05 74 20
Email: grunyk.sylvie@letouquet.com.
Internet : www.letouquet.com
CUSTOMER > Industrial sector.
Group size > 40 people.
Duration of the operation > 3 days, two nights.
INFORMATION > Le Touquet Paris-Plage Tourist Office. Palais des Congrès, Place de l'Hermitage, 62520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage - Tel: 03 21 06 72 00 - Internet : www.letouquet.com
GUIDES > Michelin, Hachette, Petit Fûté.

 

Also in this issue: Meet : Patricia Rasse, Business Tourism Development Director-Mice Le Touquet-Paris-Plage Tourisme

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