Les Franciscaines Cultural Centre

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.

Their mission was to educate and care for young girls, at a time when Deauville itself was only just beginning its life as a seaside resort. Over the decades, the site reflected the needs of the country: it served as an orphanage, a military hospital, a household school, and later a vocational high school. The sisters lived here until 2012, when the building was given an entirely new purpose. Since 2021, Les Franciscaines has become one of Normandy’s major cultural destinations.

Architect Alain Moatti preserved the beauty of the original facades and cloister while creating vast contemporary spaces. Today you’ll find a museum, a media library, an auditorium, temporary exhibition halls, and even a fablab. The whole place is organized around five themes that capture the spirit of Deauville: horses, cinema, photography, performing arts, and the art of living.

It’s somewhere you can come to wander, settle down with a book in the library, discover a photography exhibition, or step into the André Hambourg Museum, named after the painter who left Deauville an exceptional collection. Or you might simply enjoy the cloister, freely open to the public, a quiet haven right in the middle of town. Take a moment here if you’d like, before continuing your visit.