You would be following in the footsteps of Flaubert, or Monet, who painted there in the late 19th century. Or the glitterati in the Roaring Twenties, when the cream of fashionable society came to promenade on the Boardwalk; Buster Keaton, Josephine Baker, and Andre Citroen all came to Deauville to drink cocktails, bet on horses and generally spend time being voguish and elegant. They were the A-listers of the day, revealed in early monochrome photographs and magazine cartoons having a simply glorious time on the beach in daringly skimpy one-pieces and shockingly short haircuts.
Today, the Boardwalk runs along miles of golden sand, and is dominated by a row of beach houses, all with little white fences decorated with the name of a movie star, from Alda to Zellweger. Before Deauville started hosting a film festival, however, it was already a fixture on the cineaste lexicon thanks to the iconic Claude Lelouch 1966 movie Un homme et Une Femme, in which the romance between Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant is played out in the rain on Deauville beach.
In 1975 the American Film Festival began, and still runs for two weeks at the beginning of September. With an Asian film festival (March) showcasing films from Bollywood, Japan and China, Deauville has become a hub for filmmakers from across the world — a Cannes of the north in a sense.
Of course, Deauville began as something of a fantasy itself. Born from the fascination of early 19th-century French aristocrats for English seaside resorts, the lands of Dosville — next to the village of Trouville — were acquired in 1860 by a Parisian company that hired architect Delse-Francois Breney to build Paris-on-Sea. A mini version of the French capital was born, right down to the Haussmannesque style along the boulevards, so smart Parisians would feel immediately at home.
It still is terrifically smart. The Boardwalk is immaculate, the striped flags in perfect order. Beach huts are interspersed with bistros selling fruits de mer and chilled bottles of rose wine. Further back are the giant Belle Epoque villas of the early 20th century, whose owners perhaps frequented Deauville Casino, built in 1912, which is beside Place Yves Saint-Laurent (the designer had a house here). Behind the beach esplanade is the town with its boutiques, ice cream parlours and the half-timbered Town Hall set in a sward of emerald grass opposite a monument of 12 bells.
There are two race courses, Hippodrome Deauville La Touques, and Hippodrome Deauville Clairefontaine. Horse racing began in Deauville in 1864 and is still a major part of town life year-round. However even if you don’t want to gamble, you can spend a happy day wandering about branches of Hermes or Petit Bateau, and burying your toes in the sand before throwing good intentions to the wind, and indulging in the bikini-busting food produced in the surrounding Normandy countryside.
A must-see for historians is Villa Strassburger, the grandest house of the Belle Epoque, built in 1907 by Henri de Rothschild, and bought by U.S. newspaper mogul and racehorse owner Ralph Strassburger in 1924. The villa, which was donated to the town in 1980 by Strassburger’s son, is kept just as it was in the ’20s and ’30s.
Wonderful chintz furniture sits alongside gramophone players. Framed magazine cartoons show the style in which Strassburger lived. Here he is frolicking in the Deauville waves with chanteuse Edith Piaf and the Aga Khan; here he is enjoying champagne with singer Maurice Chevalier. It’s probably best not to make too much mention of the bathroom with its giant shower and walk-in sauna. The room was installed by the Nazis who commandeered the villa during the Occupation.
I stayed at Les Manoirs de Tourgeville, an extremely comfortable hotel in the nearby countryside. You can stay in the hotel proper, whose central square includes an indoor pool, or check into a suite in one of four circular manor houses, where each room is named after a famous actor.
Heading back to Paris, I concluded that for a slightly hedonistic, ultra-relaxed, luxurious, and gastronomic break in fresh, salty air, Deauville could hardly be beaten. It seems those celebrities in the Roaring Twenties had it right. Just make sure when you arrive you are pitch-perfect with their catchphrase: “Garcon! More of that bubble, si’l vous plait.”
IF YOU GO:
Deauville is 200 km northwest of Paris via the A13 highway. Tolls are about $14. Travel time is a little over two hours. There is frequent rail service to Trouville from Paris’ Gare St. Lazare either direct or with a change at Lisieux. See French Railways at scnf.com or Rail Europe, raileurope.com.
For information on travel in France, see francetourism.com. For more on Deauville, see deauville.com. Schedules for Deauville’s festivals can be found at festival-deauville.com (American Film Festival), deauvilleasia.com (Asian Film Festival), and congres-deauville.com (Classical Music Festival).
Les Manoirs de Tourgeville has room rates from $170 per night. Call +33 2 31 14 48 68 or see lesmanoirsdetourgeville.com
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