As you turn off the A16 motorway after a quick dash from Calais, the road ahead suddenly changes colour as if laid out like a red carpet, a suitably regal welcome to Le Touquet.
The most chic of all northern French resorts offers an abundance of fashionable shops and restaurants in stylish, pristine streets. Within walking distance are a finely-manicured forest and a fabulous beach where you can be tutored in sand yachting by the world champion.
The story of Le Touquet began in 1837 when a notary called Alphonse Daloz bought 1,600 hectares of dunes on the Canche Estuary for 6,005 Napoleons (Ffr120,000). In the mistaken hope that it would be good arable land, he planted potatoes, rye, Jerusalem artichokes and trees. Only the trees survived, but by the 1900s, the area had matured into an attractive forested seaside location. It became so popular with Parisiens that it became known as Le Touquet-Paris Plage.
In 1903, two Englishmen, John Whitely and Allen Stoneham, bought the forest and set up the Le Touquet Syndicate Ltd, building villas and hotels. In the 1920s, PG Wodehouse and Noel Coward bought houses in the forest, and the luxury hotels filled up with weekending English nobility.
What to see
Hôtel de Ville
Rue des Oyats
Built from local stone by Louis Debrouwer and Pierre Drobecque, the town hall is an imposing example of 1920s Anglo-Norman manor-house architecture.
The former diving-board of the swimming pool
Front de Mer
It may seem odd to include a diving-board in a list of a town's heritage attractions, but this is no ordinary board. It was designed in 1948 by Louis Quételard, whose name was synonymous with "le Style Touquettois Moderne", and anyone bold enough to use it was seen as fashionably avant-garde; if the diver was a female in a bathing suit, even a tad risqué. These days, it is a symbol of the modernity of post-war times.
Le Touquet Museum
Intersection of Avenue du Golf and Avenue du Château Tel: 00 33 (0)321 05 62 62.
Open: Wed - Sun, 10am - noon and 2pm (Sun 2.30pm) - 6pm.
Entrance: adults Ffr20, children Ffr5.
Le Touquet's only museum, housed in a typically handsome 1930s villa, has a fine collection of landscapes by Edouard Leveque who inadvertently gave the opal coast its name. His palette consisted mainly of pinks, beiges and slightly iridescent colours resembling the hues of opal stone.
What to do
Sand yachting
Contact: Bertrand Lambert (00 33 (0)3 21 05 33 51). Discovery session Ffr70 (2 hours); perfecting session Ffr220 (2 hours).
The meticulously clean, fine-sand beach is perfect for sunbathing, but its length also makes it ideal for more active pursuits such as sand yachting. These lightweight craft reach exhilarating speeds three times faster than the wind. Beginners are tutored by the best.
Aqualud
Front de Mer Tel: 00 33 (0)321 05 63 59
Open: daily 10am-6pm from April to the end of August.
Admission: three hours Ffr65, four hours Ffr71, full day Ffr82
The exotic water adventure park is ideal for families, featuring a range of pools, Jacuzzis, saunas, some inside a glass pyramid for chilly days, some in the open air. Kids will love the flumes, slides, toboggans and other state-of-the-art rides.
Thalassa Le Touquet
Front de Mer
Tel: 00 33 (0)321 09 86 00
Clients are pampered with concoctions containing oceanic minerals. One-day, weekend and week-long health "cures" are designed to rejuvenate, stimulate, invigorate or just relax.
Parc International de la Canche
Avenue de la Dune aux Loups
Tel: 00 33 (0)321 05 15 25
Set in the shady beauty of the forest, the Parc is regarded as one of the best-equipped equestrian centres in France. As well as providing tuition, it arranges romantic horse rides along the coast at dawn, dusk and sometimes in moonlight.
Shopping
The best shopping street is Rue St Jean, stretching from the seafront to the forest.
Nota Bene Piu
3 Rue St Jean
Tel: 00 33(0)3 21 05 44 46
Specialises in stylish sailing and leisure wear, particularly the famous Aigle tailored wellies.
Chez Martine
40 Rue St Jean
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 14 09
If you want to look good on the golf course or the tennis courts, this is where to buy the winning kit.
Flais Gérard
9 Rue St Jean
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 42 41
An antique shop exuding style, even before you enter, with wood carvings decorating the exterior from top to bottom. The goods inside won't disappoint any serious collector.
Rien Que Pour Elles/Lui
37 Rue St Jean
Tel: 00 33(0)3 21 05 29 78
Whoever your favourite designer is, you should find something of their collection at this chic fashion outlet: Paul Smith, Moschino, Lacroix, Gaultier, Dolce & Gabanna, and the list goes on.
Florence Kooijman
89 Rue St Jean
Tel: 00 33(0)3 21 05 21 73
A quaint shoe shop displaying a large range of the owner's exclusive designs. If you like the design but not the colour or material, you can choose from a range of swatches and the shoes will be made to order within two weeks.
La Mascotte
56-61 Rue St Jean
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 02 98
This huge general store takes up space on both sides of rue St Jean. The jet set place their wedding lists here. British tourists come to get their hands on beautiful Lalique crystal at a third off the UK price. Everyone comes here for their leather goods, Cartier, Hermès, Baccarat and Christofle products.
Le Chais
70 Rue de Londres
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 59 83
For quality wines from all the country's main regions.
Le Petit Marché
71 rue Metz
Tel: 00 33 (0) 21 05 70 10
If you have a cooler bag, bring it here and stock up on top-quality cheeses.
Au Chat Bleu
47 rue St Jean
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 03 86
For divine hand-made chocolates. The owners insist that they invented le Bouchée - literally a mouthful but actually a chocolate bar. Choose from 56 different varieties.
The Market
Place du Marché Couvert
Open: June 1 - Sept 15, Monday, Thursday and Saturday; Sept 16 - May 31, Thursday and Saturday.
The beautiful, half-moon-shaped covered market was designed by Henry-Léon Bloch and completed in 1937. Perishable products such as cheese, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables are sold in the market's covered area which is adorned with attractive tiling. The stalls in the central courtyard sell superb cheap textiles, clothes and shoes. With appealing views of the sea and the Jardin d'Ypres.
Where to eat
Café des Sports
22 rue Saint Jean
Open: daily 9am-4am
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 05 022
Tariff: various
This is a very popular, casual and comfortable brasserie with Parisien music in the background. Specialities include Welsh rarebit, only loosely based on the British dish - a soup plate filled with melted cheese cooked in beer. The bread makes a small appearance at the bottom.
Flavio's
Avenue du Verger
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 10 22
Tariff: from Ffr240
Flavio's is the favourite haunt of the regulars staying at Le Touquet's most highly regarded hotel, The Westminster. The décor and service exude prosperity and civility. As well as the à la carte menu, there are two set menus. The first, Le Privé, offers three courses and a bottle of wine for Ffr240. The speciality menu at Ffr380 is unforgettable if you love lobster and other seafood, but the wine is extra.
Café des Arts
80 rue de Paris
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 21 55
Closed: Wednesday and Thursday
Tariff: from Ffr100-300
High-quality food is prepared in imaginative combinations, blending fruit and unusual vegetables with seafood.
La Dune Aux Loups
Avenue de la Dune aux Loups
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 42 54
Closed: Tuesday afternoon.
Tariff: Ffr99-Ffr286
An excellent traditional wood-beamed restaurant deep in the forest, close to the equestrian centre.
Le Village Suise Restaurant
52 Avenue St Jean
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 69 93
Tariff: from Ffr130
Built in 1905 in medieval style by the architect Bertrand with a pretty folly, a turret and a narrow flight of steps leading to the restaurant. Excellent traditional cuisine.
Where to stay
The Westminster
(four star)
Avenue du Verger
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 05 48 48
Tariff: Ffr500-Ffr1,300
Le West, as it is affectionately known, is Le Touquet's most sumptuous hotel. Over the years, it has entertained a huge range of celebrities, recorded in an impressive hall of fame exhibiting framed and signed photographs of film stars and politicians from Sean Connery to Gandhi.
Park Plaza Grand Hotel
(four star)
4 Boulevard de la Canche
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 06 88 88
Tariff: Ffr500-Ffr1,295
An elegant modern hotel in the heart of the forest with a panoramic view over the Canche bay. Inside, the Thalgo Le Touquet Health and Beauty Centre offers a revitalising course of beauty and relaxation treatments designed to enhance your well being in conducive surroundings.
Novotel
(three star)
Front de Mer
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 09 85 00
Tariff: Ffr570-Ffr920
Ibis
(two star)
Front de Mer
Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 09 87 00
Tariff: Ffr440-Ffr630
It seems a little incongruous to stay in a basic chain hotel while in Le Touquet. However, these two are on either side of the Thalassa centre on the beach front, which allows for internal access from the hotels into the centre, and anyone using the therapy services is at least guaranteed a room with a sea view.
Way to go
Lydd International Airport
Lydd, Kent TN29 9QL
Tel: 01797 322411
Price: flights from June to October. Ticket prices have not yet been confirmed but are expected to be about £95 return.
P&O
Tel: 087 0600 0600
Price: five-day return for a car and up to nine passengers from £99.
Eurotunnel
Tel: 08705 35 35 35
Price: Mini breaks from £99. Economy returns for five days or more from £179
SeaFrance
Tel: 08705 711711
Price: car and five passengers, day return from £39, five-day return from £149.
Hoverspeed
Tel: 08705 240 241
Price: Car and two passengers, five-day return from £137.
