Most Beautiful Towns in France: Trouville-Deauville

Most Beautiful Towns in France: Trouville sur-Mer & Deauville in Normandy

Just over an hour by train from Paris, the beaches of Trouville and Deauville in Normandy are often nicknamed the ‘Parisian Riviera’. These upper-class and exquisite seaside towns attracted the rich Parisians as early as the mid 1800s.

Trouville & Deauville’s Artistic Past

Normandy was also a magnet to many of the French Impressionism painters. Its close proximity to Paris enabled the artists to travel by train and produce an incredibly rich artistic legacy.

Here in Normandy, the famous Impressionist painters preferred to paint outdoors (plein-air painting), in natural light, and to concentrate on landscapes, towns and scenes of daily life.

Both Trouville and Deauville’s vast sandy beaches set the scene for the artists such as Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Eugène Boudin, Gustave Caillebotte and others. The artists set up their easels & and painted the holidaying Parisian aristocrats.

The Parisian Riveria: Trouville-Deauville Normandy

Parisians have been holidaying in the chic resort town of Deauville, Normandy for centuries.

Its neighboring town Trouville-sur-Mer, is separated from Deauville only by a small strip of the Touques River, yet sharing the same pristine shores.

Deauville is an internationally renowned resort in Normandy, exuding wealth and glamour.

The town is buzzing all year round with its annual and glamorous film festival, prestigious horse racing event,yachting regattas, tennis and golf tournaments, international jazz festivals and vintage car rallies.

The long beach is gorgeous, wide and very clean. We spent over an hour walking along the famous boardwalk called promenade des Planches.

Hollywood in Deauville

Walking along the boardwalk, you will see the famous beach cabins. These iconic cabins are named after famous Hollywood stars who visited Deauville over the decades during the famous American Film Festivals.

Deauville’s charming town center

We also wandered around Deauville’s trendy town center. It is like an open museum as everything is so immaculately clean and gorgeous!

Each Norman half-timbered building in the town’s center is more beautiful than the next. More than 500 of these half-timbered buildings are protected! We walked for an hour around the town and even walked into the famous Hotel Barrière Le Normandy … so chic, so glitzy, so French and SO VERY EXPENSIVE!!!

The town’s center isn’t large. Beautiful and expensive designer shops, trendy cafés and restaurants line the charming streets in the town’s center. They shops are open everyday.

Deauville’s Markets

We also stumbled across a lovely local market that is open on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday mornings. We discovered the market in the early afternoon, while they were packing up. My recommendation is to get there earlier if you like exploring markets.

From what I could see, the prices at the market were for us ‘normal’ people who cannot not shop in the expensive Deauville designer shops.

Trouville-sur-Mer

Trouville is the neighboring beach town to Deauville. It also oozes French chic style but with less glitz than Deauville. In it’s heyday Trouville was also called the ‘Queen of the Beaches’ and it is still popular by beach-lovers today.

Artists started the trend way before, but by the mid 19th century, the rich and fashionable were also flocking to Trouville. They built grand villas and places of entertainment, like the glitzy Trouville casino.

Wander up the slope into the winding lanes to enjoy the calmer side of Trouville. Lining the streets are charming, elegant 19th century architecture.

If you love art, there are plenty of lovely galleries in the town to explore.

Looking for fabulous day trip to Honfleur, Deauville & Trouville, see the link below for a fun option:

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Going on a Road Trip to Normandy? Check Out My Tips & Trips of Where to Go & What to See!

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