A Holiday in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage: the Guide to Planning Your Stay

A holiday in Le Touquet means a beach more than ten kilometres long, a pine forest wrapped around the town and a lively centre where everything can be done on foot or by bike. The resort is just as well suited to a family week in summer as to a few quiet days out of season.

This guide brings together what you need to know before you go: how to get there, where to stay, what to do, when to book and how to keep your budget under control. We wrote it from our day-to-day experience as hosts in the resort.

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage at a glance

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage is in the Pas-de-Calais, on the Opal Coast, south of the Canche estuary and facing the English Channel. The resort was born at the end of the 19th century: in 1882, Alphonse Daloz divided up the dunes he owned into building plots and named the development “Paris-Plage”. British investors, John Whitley and Allen Stoneham, then developed the estate in the early 20th century, and the town became independent from Cucq in 1912. This dual influence explains the town's very particular atmosphere, often described as the most British of French resorts.

The built heritage is part of the pleasure of a stay: Anglo-Norman-style villas, a 1930s town hall and covered market, and the Canche lighthouse designed by Louis Quételart. To trace this history, read our article on the history of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.

Getting there and getting around stress-free

By car

From Paris, the A16 motorway takes you to the Étaples-Le Touquet exit; allow about 2 hrs 45 without traffic. From Lille, the A25 then the A16 get you to the resort in about two hours. On Friday evenings in July and August, leave early: traffic leaving the Paris area and arriving on the coast builds up quickly.

By train

The resort has no station of its own: the nearest is Étaples-Le Touquet, on the other side of the Canche, about 5 km from the centre. It is served by TGV and TER trains from Paris-Nord, as well as regional services. To complete your journey, you can choose between local buses, taxis and the Caddy Express shuttle, a paid service bookable in advance that links the station to several stops in town from Thursday to Monday.

Getting around

Once you have settled in, the car becomes almost redundant. The centre, the beach and the forest are close to one another, and cycling is the most pleasant way to get around: forest tracks, the seafront and, for the more energetic, the Vélomaritime (EuroVelo 4), which reaches Berck in around fifteen kilometres. Our article on how to get to Le Touquet details all the options.

Where to stay for a holiday in Le Touquet

Your choice of neighbourhood shapes the feel of your stay. Here are the main options:

• The town centre, around rue Saint-Jean and the covered market: everything is within walking distance, ideal without a car and for enjoying the shops and restaurants.
• The seafront: views over the beach, in exchange for a more urban setting with many apartment blocks.
• The forest district: large villas under the pines, very quiet, but often several hundred metres from the shops.
• Neighbouring towns (Cucq, Stella-Plage, Étaples): often lower prices, but a car becomes essential.

For a family or a group of friends, a furnished holiday rental offers more space and a proper kitchen than a hotel room. At Villa Mon Étoile, our two apartments in a 1920 Art Deco villa are on rue d'Étaples, about 300 m from the beach and 200 m from rue Saint-Jean. To compare neighbourhoods and types of accommodation, see our guide on where to stay in Le Touquet.

Things to do during your stay

The resort is best discovered without a packed schedule: a few highlights a day are enough. Among the must-dos:

• The beach, for walks, swimming in summer and sand yachting, the resort's signature sport.
• The Canche lighthouse, about 57 m tall, whose climb offers a sweeping view over the town, the forest and the bay.
• The covered market, an arcaded building from the early 1930s, and the shops on rue Saint-Jean.
• The forest, to explore on foot or by bike, and the three courses of Le Touquet golf club.
• The Canche bay, a nature reserve where the tourist office runs outings to watch seals and birds.
• The Musée du Touquet-Paris-Plage, housed in Villa Way Side and devoted in particular to the painters of the Étaples art colony.

All our ideas, grouped by mood, are gathered in our article on things to do in Le Touquet.

Which season to choose

July and August bring the (relative) warmth, the buzz and the beach clubs, but also the crowds and the highest prices. May, June and September often offer the best compromise: long days, a spacious beach and gentler prices. Winter has its own appeal, with long windswept walks and events such as the Enduropale or the Christmas festivities.

The month-by-month details are in our article on when to visit Le Touquet.

Budget and booking: good habits

A few habits will help you enjoy the resort without unpleasant surprises:

1. Book early for summer and the May bank holidays: the best-located properties go several months in advance.
2. Check what is included: cleaning, bed linen, towels, tourist tax and security deposit vary a lot from one rental to another.
3. Choose accommodation close to the centre: you will save on paid parking in season and on fuel.
4. Cook some of your meals with produce from the market, and save restaurants for the evenings that matter.
5. Check the dates of major events before booking: they push up demand, which is good if you are coming for them, less so if you are looking for peace and quiet.

Charles's tip: before booking, check the tide times on the tourist office website. At low tide, the beach becomes huge and perfect for cycling or sand yachting; at high tide, the strip of sand shrinks. Planning your days around the tides really changes the experience.