Experiencing Deauville means walking along the Boardwalk with the sea for a garden, discovering its architecture which is protected and valued, in a resort where everything is accessible on foot or by bicycle. It means playing golf in the heart of Normandy, setting sail on the Estuary, witnessing the unforgettable spectacle of a horse race, a polo match or an equestrian competition. It means attending a concert or a show at the Casino's proscenium theatre, discovering the talents of Asian and American cinemas, photography, literature or music. It means wandering round the market, tasting the excellent local specialities, or simply doing nothing but daydreaming on the beach. Experiencing Deauville also means switching off in order to recharge your batteries and contemplate the future, facing up to experience, inventing new challenges, favouring encounters, human relationships and well-being. It means discovering an area that is far removed from the usual clichés, with its own constantly renewed identity and creativity.

Short story...

Deauville has had a meteoric rise from the little village on the hillside to the famous seaside resort. The town has succeeded in adapting to constant changes in the tourist market by developing its accommodation and leisure facilities while respecting its environment through the promotion and preservation of its heritage. Throughout its history Deauville also has forged its own personality, with a unique style to which it alone holds the secret. At times extravagant, yet always accessible, Deauville charms by its nature and relaxed, casual styles. Ever true to this image, it attracts and inspires the curiosity of artists from every sphere. Duke de Morny It all began on the Mont-Canisy... In those days it was a little village on a hillside overlooking the marshes below. The Duke de Morny was to change its face forever. He took the wild gamble of draining the marshes to build an ideal seaside resort on the site. In only four years, from 1860 to 1864, Deauville was built, with its villas, racecourse, railway line, and a port...

The railway was to play an essential role in Deauville's tourist development. The railway station was finished in 1863, then placing Deauville only 5 hours from Paris. In 1931 a new and bigger railway station was inaugurated in the modernist regional style. The death of the duke of Morny, the fall of the Second Empire and the subsequent economic crisis affected the development of the resort. Changes to the seafront compounded these problems. The construction of the port had diverted sea currents and increased the accumulation of sand on the beach. This phenomenon accelerated during the winter of 1874-75, when a bank of pebbles formed after a violent storm, driving the sea back by 300 m and creating a strip of land, known as “lais”(polders), which has become a favourite playground for holiday makers and sportsmen. After the fall of the Second Empire, the Mayor Désiré le Hoc breathed new life into the resort with the assistance of Eugène Cornuché, the famous owner of the Parisian restaurant “Maxim's”. Cornuché built the casino and the prestigious Hôtels Normandy and Royal. Then in 1914 the start of the First World War put a temporary stop to the development of Deauville. The casino and some of the hotels were turned into military hospitals. Hotel Royal   The Casino Hotel Normandy

Deauville the Muse... After the First World War the Paris smart set of the Roaring Twenties flocked to Deauville's now-famous boardwalk, built in 1923. The Deauville- Clairefontaine racecourse (1928) and the airport (1931) were built, while yachting activities developed in addition to the resort's traditional activities (tennis, horse riding, polo, racing, and the casino), and a third luxury hotel was constructed: the Hôtel du Golf, with its 27-hole golf course.

Boardwalk "Les Planches"     The train station

The joyful post-war period

In the two years following the war the resort regained its pre-war prestige. Its hotels, racecourses, tennis courts, polo grounds and pigeon-shooting were all fully booked for the summer season. In 1950, François André, who then headed up the hotels and the casino, launched the Polo Gold Cup, which was destined to become one of the world's top tournaments under his management.

Responding to the demands of a wider French and international clientele, Deauville developed its seafront with leisure facilities and green spaces, built a balneotherapy centre, a sea-water swimming pool (1966) and opened a second marina (1972).

Marina Port-Deauville

Olympic Swimming pool

Claude Lelouch

1965: Taking a break from Paris, the film director found himself on the beach at Deauville early one morning, where he saw a woman and child walking: He had his story… A man and a women was released in 1966 and won nearly 50 international awards. Deauville became the eternal meeting place for romantics.

1975, new horizons

Summer destination, with its racecourses, beach and casino, Deauville set out to become a resort with all-year-round appeal. In 1975, seeking new horizons, it launched its first American Film Festival. Since then, the organization of such events has played a key role in the town's development strategy.

1992, Business tourism

The town built a monumental convention centre, the Centre International de Deauville (C.I.D.), opening Deauville up to business tourism. The semi-sunken 18 000 m2 building (14 m below sea level) is on three levels and includes inside a 1 500-seat auditorium. Major international events take place here each year, such as the film festivals, the Women's Forum, which every October draws more than 1 000 women in key positions or major political summits. The C.I.D. now hosts such events 300 days per year (official website).

CID, the International Deauville Convention Centre

1996, New cultural events

Although Deauville has always been associated with horse racing, polo and yearling auctions, since it was founded it has also produced and attracted writers, painters, photographers and many others artists... From 1996, that creative spirit inspired a strong cultural policy which led to the creation of new events: the Easter Festival (1996), which offers residency to young soloists; the Asian Film Festival (1999), a window on a whole continent; a winter Cultural season (1997); the Books and Music book fair (2001) to explore the links between words and notes. In 2010, Deauville conceived a new photographic event: Planche(s) Contact.