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Le Touquet was the place to seen for the rich and famous in the 1920s. Andrew Douglas
finds the resort nicknamed Paris by the Sea still retains its elegant charm
IT'S not every day I find myself following
in the footsteps of Noel Coward and PG
Wodehouse, not to mention English high
society of the 1920s and 30s. Just 130 years
ago Le Touquet - just 40-odd miles down
the coast from Calais - was nothing more than
an area of wild sand dunes and acres of pine forest,
fronted by a long, wide, sweeping beach.
The Picardy resort was created in 1876 by the
owner of Paris newspaper Le Figaro and became
the haunt of rich Parisians, earning the nickname
Paris by the Sea.
But the seeds of much of Le Touquet's modern
charm and splendour were sown with strict
building regulations encouraging only the most
exclusive, imaginative and innovative homes.
But it was in 1903 that a British syndicate
bought land and began selling properties to the
rich and famous in England. It was in the 1920s
that Coward and the smart set weekended here
and they commissioned further villas of outstanding
designs.
Unlike some British seaside resorts which have
badly faded from their glorious heyday, Le Touquet
retains much of that which made it such a
luxurious destination between the wars.
As well as the buildings themselves - there are
several trails allowing the visitor to gawp at the
preserved and protected villas, some of which
border on almost Disneyesque splendour - there
are a host of other attractions.
LE Touquet boasts casinos, one, the Casino
Du Paris, the inspiration for James Bond
author Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, several
golf courses, spas, designer shops, restaurants
and bars.
It promotes itself as a year-round resort and offers
an impressive list of leisure and sporting activities,
ranging from painting to sand yachting
and horse riding.
However, if you've got a two-year-old then you
can forget most of that. Our main daily destinations
were the magnificent beach and the indoor
heated swimming pool at the child-friendly Les
Jardins de la Cote d'Opale.
The two-story apartments, some of which
sleep a maximum of seven, were booked through
Key Places, and operated by excellent Pierre &
Vacances. The complex has 87 apartments, each
with kitchen, living area, bathroom, toilet and
balcony. And the television picked up a justwatchable
signal from the UK, so I never did get
to escape Holby City.
However, it's not all plush hotels and boutiques
in Le Touquet. There's something for most budgets,
including cheaper hotels, bed and breakfast
and camp sites.
Key Places, now part of Keycamp Holidays,
offer a selection of self-catering apartments, studios,
houses, villas and hotel rooms in France,
Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain, Mallorca, Portugal,
Madeira, Slovenia and Croatia. Accommodation
ranges from budget to the large and luxurious.
Most of the holidays offered include a Dover
to Calais ferry crossing, but you can opt for other
ferry routes or the Channel Tunnel at beneficial
rates. Key Places can also book a wide range of
flights, European train travel and organise car
hire.
Although PG Wodehouse famously said: "I always
advise people never to give advice", I will
ignore that and say Le Touquet remains a great
holiday destination.
* For more details contact www.keyplaces.
co.uk or call 0844-406-0200.
10:49am Saturday 5th July 2008
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