Art and galleries in Le Touquet: museum, artists and addresses to know

To see art in Le Touquet, start with the Musée du Touquet-Paris-Plage – Édouard Champion, in Villa Way Side in the forest, then tour the town-centre galleries, clustered around place de l'Hermitage, avenue du Verger and rue Saint-Jean. Open-air sculptures, artists based in the resort and art fairs complete the picture.

This tradition goes back to the resort's beginnings: it was a Le Touquet painter who invented the name "Côte d'Opale" (the Opal Coast). Here's what you need to know, along with the addresses listed by the tourist office.

A resort born under the painters' gaze

In the late 19th century, the shifting light of the Canche bay drew dozens of French, British, American and Scandinavian painters. Based in Étaples, on the other side of the estuary, they formed what is now known as the Étaples art colony (or Étaples school). Several of them, such as Eugène Chigot and the Englishman Fred Mayor, owned a house or spent their summers in Paris-Plage.

In 1911 the Le Touquet painter and writer Édouard Lévêque proposed the name Côte d'Opale, after the milky, shifting reflections of the sea, reminiscent of the precious stone. The name caught on for the whole coastline, from the Authie bay to the Belgian border.

Later, Jean Dubuffet had a villa-studio built in the forest, near today's museum. The bond between the resort and artists has never been broken.

The Musée du Touquet-Paris-Plage, in Villa Way Side

The museum was founded in 1932 thanks to a gift from the art publisher Édouard Champion, who donated his collection of works by the Étaples school. First housed in the town hall, it moved from 1989-1991 into Villa Way Side, a 1920s Anglo-Norman house designed by the architect Henri-Léon Bloch, in the middle of the forest. It holds the official "Musée de France" label.

What you'll see there:

• The Opal Coast painters: Henri Le Sidaner, Eugène Chigot, Eugène Boudin and the artists of the Étaples school.
• Modern and contemporary art: a significant body of French artists from the 1950s to the 1970s, including Vasarely, Olivier Debré, Jean Dubuffet, Ladislas Kijno and Peter Klasen.
• A collection of signed photographic portraits of early-20th-century celebrities, witnesses to the resort's glory days.
• Temporary exhibitions, generally shown during the warmer months and in autumn.

The reception rooms have kept their original wood panelling, giving the feel of a home rather than a large museum. Sculptures stand on the lawns around the villa. Check opening hours and current exhibitions on the tourist office website before you go.

The town-centre art galleries

Le Touquet has around fifteen galleries listed by the tourist office, concentrated in a small area that is easy to explore on foot. Here are a few established addresses, each with its own character:

Opening hours vary with the season and some galleries only receive visitors by appointment outside the holidays: check before you go. For older pieces, lovers of antiques and furniture will find most to enjoy at the annual art and antiques fair (see below) and at the dealers in the region's markets.

Alain Godon and today's artists

You can't talk about art in Le Touquet without mentioning Alain Godon. Based in the resort since 1992, this painter and sculptor of round, colourful characters first exhibited here in 1994, then at the museum for the town's centenary in 2012. He created the "Tour Paris-Plage" sculpture that graces place du Centenaire on the seafront. His originals are shown on avenue du Verger and reproductions on boulevard Daloz.

Other artists keep the local scene alive: painters, ceramicists, photographers and sculptors exhibit in the galleries, at the Palais des Congrès or during town events. The MACT association (Musée Art et Culture du Touquet) also organises art-history classes and talks in support of the museum.

Le Touquet also has a rich musical and literary history, from Gainsbourg to Van der Meersch: we tell the story in our article on Le Touquet's famous figures.

Open-air art: a walking tour

Many of the works can be seen for free, simply by strolling:

1. Place du Centenaire, on the seafront: Alain Godon's sculpture.
2. Jardin des Arts, a stone's throw from rue Saint-Jean: Albert Féraud's large steel sculpture, Signal ou Arbre de vie (Signal or Tree of Life, 1990), and, set in the ground, plaques bearing the handprints of artists who have visited the resort. The garden faces the Village Suisse, a group of villas from 1906.
3. Avenue du Verger and place de l'Hermitage: the highest concentration of galleries.
4. Villa Way Side and the parc des Pins, in the forest: the museum and the sculptures in its grounds.

Allow half a day including the museum visit. To continue with architecture, our article on Le Touquet's villas points out the finest façades.

Charles's tip: save the museum for a windy or rainy day, and do the gallery tour on a Saturday late afternoon, when most of them are open. From Villa Mon Étoile, the galleries and the Jardin des Arts are within walking distance; for the museum, in the forest, a bike is ideal.

Art fairs and artistic events through the year

Several events let you see art beyond the galleries:

• The art and antiques fair: created in 1970 and long held over All Saints' (early November), Le Touquet's antiques fair has become Art Touquet and brings together antiques, jewellery, and modern and contemporary art. Check the dates of the current edition.
• The Printemps de l'Art déco: every spring, several towns in the Hauts-de-France region, including Le Touquet, showcase their Art Deco heritage with tours and events.
• The museum's exhibitions, renewed every season, and temporary exhibitions at the Palais des Congrès.
• European Heritage Days, in September, with guided tours of the resort.

For other major events, sporting or musical, see our article on Le Touquet's highlights, and for an outing in bad weather, our selection of rainy-day activities.