Visit Deauville

And here stands Deauville’s other great landmark: its Casino. Did you know that in France casinos are only allowed in spa towns or seaside resorts? That’s no coincidence, it’s a nineteenth-century law still in force today. Which explains why Deauville has its glittering casino while Paris does not. Read more

Let’s pause for a moment and take a look at that striking building on your left, the International Center of Deauville. It almost seems to sink into the sand, doesn’t it? That effect is intentional. Read more

You’ve arrived at Deauville’s most famous walkway: the legendary Planches. Before they existed, there were only rows of old wooden beach huts lined up on the sand. But in the early 1920s, the town wanted something worthy of its reputation. Read more

You’re now on Rue Raspail, right in the heart of Deauville’s Villa District. Take a look around: half-timbered facades, brickwork in checkerboard patterns, sculpted rooftops, and small gardens framed by delicate iron gates—everything here breathes seaside leisure. Read more

This is the Royal Hotel, one of Deauville’s two legendary palaces. It opened in July 1913, rising from the ground in record time, just ten months after construction began. The design was the work of Théo Petit, the architect behind the Normandy Hotel, with help from Georges Wybo, who would later create the Casino. Read more

In front of you stands a building unlike any other: Les Franciscaines. With a name like that, you’ve probably guessed that before it became a cutting-edge museum and cultural center, it was once… a convent. Built in 1876, it welcomed the first Franciscan sisters a few years later. Read more

Here we are in front of Saint-Augustin Church. It was built to replace the old parish of Saint-Laurent, perched up on the hill and considered far too remote for a seaside resort that was rapidly expanding. Right here in the heart of Deauville, a place of worship was needed to match the ambitions of the new town. Read more

You’re standing by one of the places that shaped Deauville’s very identity: its racecourse. Let’s rewind to August 1864. Back then, this was still reclaimed marshland, and yet it was already a day of celebration: on the 14th and 15th, the very first major races of the young resort took place right here. Read more

You’re now standing at the Morny Basin, right in the heart of Deauville’s marina. As early as the nineteenth century, this basin welcomed the sailing boats of the first holidaymakers who had arrived by train from Paris to enjoy the sea. Read more

Let’s pause here on Place Gabrielle-Chanel. It was in Deauville that everything began for the designer, long before Paris or worldwide fame. In 1913, Gabrielle Chanel, already nicknamed “Coco”, opened her very first boutique under her full name. Read more

On your right is the Pont des Belges, the bridge linking Deauville to Trouville. Its name recalls a key moment in the Liberation of August 1944. It was here that Belgian and Luxembourg soldiers of the Piron Brigade crossed the River Touques under German fire, after the original bridge had been destroyed. Read more

In front of you flows the River Touques, the narrow stretch of water that separates Deauville from its neighbor, Trouville. On this side, the elegant resort born in the Second Empire, with its palaces, villas, and casino. On the other, the elder sister: Trouville, much older, already famous in the nineteenth century as a fishing port and as the “Queen of Beaches.” Read more

n front of you, notice the two striped towers in black and white. They were built quite recently to mark the entrance to the harbor peninsula. One houses the harbor master’s office, the other is a viewing tower. If you’re up for it, you can head to the top, 155 steps or a lift, and enjoy a full 360-degree panorama over Deauville, Trouville, the sea, and even the rolling countryside of the Pays d’Auge Read more

Let’s pause for a moment in front of this bronze column. You’re looking at Cryptogram One, a work gifted to the city in 2012 by artist Karl Lagasse. Born in Deauville, Lagasse was named in 2009 as one of the ten most talented sculptors under thirty. Read more

Let’s pause for a moment at Market Square to take in its architecture, and to talk a little about Normandy’s gastronomy. In 1923, architect Georges Madeline built two half-timbered halls here, topped with tiled roofs and inspired by traditional Norman style. With the look of old village houses, they give the center of Deauville a picturesque charm, like an open-air covered market. Read more

Before you stands the statue of the Duke of Morny, half-brother of Napoleon III, an ambitious, visionary businessman. Since this square bears his name and you may not know much about him, let’s make the introductions. In 1859, Charles Auguste de Morny joined forces with Doctor Olliffe, banker Donon, and architect Breney to invest in 240 hectares of marshland, with the bold plan of building an entire seaside resort from scratch. Read more