Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a coastal town and commune of the Pas-de-Calais département, in northern France. Population (2005): 8,500.
Le Touquet has a reputation as the most elegant holiday resort of northern France - the playground of rich Parisians, with many luxury hotels.
Le Touquet and the wealthy EnglishIn 1903, a British Gentleman bought the land, and set out to sell properties to the rich from across the English Channel. In the 1920s Noel Coward and the 'smart set' from England spent weekends here, and commissioned more outstanding villa designs echoing traditional and ultra-modern domestic styles. Today the town tourist office offers organised trails to see outstanding examples of 19th and 20th century domestic architecture, which are now preserved and protected.
MiscellaneousInland from the beach, hotels, casino and horse racing course, expensive villas are spaced out amid acres of woodland, offering every sport imaginable, particularly golf.
Every year in February, a spectacular motorbike & quad race called 'Enduro' brings hundreds of thousands of spectators to watch crowds of bikers race along the beach and through the dunes.
Le Touquet was the birthplace of Christian Ferras (1933-1982), violinist.
Twin townsLe Touquet participates in international town twinning; its current partners are:
