Rue Saint-Jean and Le Touquet's iconic streets: the complete walk

Le Touquet's most famous street is rue Saint-Jean: it runs down to the sea and is home to most of the shops, cafés and restaurants. But the resort has other streets worth knowing, some for shopping, others for their villas and monuments. Here is how they fit together, what you'll see there and a walk to link them, from the seafront promenade to the forest.

Understanding the layout of Le Touquet

The centre follows the plan of the first estate of 1882: a grid of streets running parallel and perpendicular to the sea. Two main axes structure the whole:

• Rue Saint-Jean, perpendicular to the beach, continued by avenue Saint-Jean towards the Hermitage district.
• Boulevard Daloz, parallel to the sea, named after the founder and running past the town hall.

Further east, after 1902, the English developments laid out gently curving avenues that disappear into the pine forest. So within a few hundred metres you move from a dense, busy shopping centre to heavily wooded residential districts.

Named after cities and people

Many streets in the centre are named after cities, French or foreign: Paris, London, Moscow, Metz, Brussels. Others honour figures from local history: boulevard Daloz for the founder, or rue Jean-Monnet, formerly known as Grande-Rue. Some streets have changed name over time, which is why you sometimes find two names on old postcards.

Rue Saint-Jean, the shopping street

Rue Saint-Jean starts from the seafront on place du Centenaire, at the foot of Alain Godon's Tour Paris-Plage. It runs inland for just under 500 metres, then becomes avenue Saint-Jean, heading towards the Hermitage district and the Westminster hotel. This is the shopping street: national chains, independent boutiques, fashion, homeware, ice-cream parlours, cafés and terraces follow one after another.

A few landmarks along the way:

• at the bottom of the street, the sea revealed at the end of the vista;
• on avenue Saint-Jean, the Village Suisse, three chalets from 1905-1906 designed by Paul Bertrand;
• Villa Monéjan, by Anatole Bienaimé, above a shop;
• close by, the Jardin des Arts and its large sculpture by Albert Féraud.

When to stroll there

The street is very lively on Saturdays and during the school holidays, especially in the late afternoon; on weekdays out of season it's pleasantly quiet and most shops stay open. In early summer the setting sun lines up almost exactly with the street: walking down to the sea in the evening, you can watch it sink at the end of the vista. On days of big beach events, such as the Enduropale in winter, the street becomes the main route between the town and the seafront.

The shopping grid: rue de Metz, rue de Paris, rue de Londres

Running parallel or perpendicular to rue Saint-Jean, these streets form what the tourist office calls Le Touquet's "chessboard": restaurants, terraces and more discreet boutiques.

• Rue de Metz: it leads to the semicircular covered market (1931-1932) and passes the post office, both listed historic monuments. This is the street for food shopping.
• Rue de Paris: one of the oldest shopping streets, where the tramway ran in the Belle Époque. It is home to Villa Alexandre, a listed historic monument.
• Rue de Londres and rue de Moscou: quieter, with restaurants and, on rue de Moscou, Louis Quételart's Villa Pomme d'Api (1923).
• Avenue du Verger: the Westminster hotel, art galleries and the starting point of the tourist office's cycling loops.

For the best food addresses, see our article on Le Touquet's shops and markets.

Heritage streets

For architecture, other streets are worth a stroll:

All these villas are private: admire them from the pavement. Our guide to Le Touquet's architecture presents their architects and styles.

The seafront, a street apart

Boulevard du Docteur-Jules-Pouget, formerly boulevard de la Mer, and the promenade alongside it form the resort's other centre. On the beach side you walk or cycle along the sand; on the town side, 1960s apartment blocks alternate with a few surviving old villas. Place du Centenaire, where rue Saint-Jean meets the sea, is its focal point. To the north, the promenade continues as the route en corniche, built in 1963 and reserved for pedestrians and cyclists since 2009: it runs along the dune to the point and the Canche bay observation hide. To the south, the promenade leads to the wide stretches of beach used for sand yachting.

This is where you watch the sunset, as explained in our article on the best views in Le Touquet.

A walk from the sea to the forest

Allow about 2 hours, including stops:

1. Place du Centenaire, facing the sea.
2. Walk up rue Saint-Jean and its shops.
3. Turn into rue de Metz as far as the covered market, then pass under the arch on rue Jean-Monnet and say hello to Le Castel.
4. Head to boulevard Daloz, the town hall and the Jardin d'Ypres.
5. Via avenue de la Paix, walk past Tata Ice.
6. Rejoin avenue Saint-Jean, the Village Suisse and the Jardin des Arts.
7. Finish at the foot of the Canche lighthouse or, if you're feeling energetic, carry on into the forest towards avenue du Golf.

By bike, you can extend the loop into the forest: the cycle paths start from avenue du Verger and cross the villa districts beneath the pines, almost entirely flat.

Charles's tip: do your shopping on rue Saint-Jean in the morning, when the pavements are still quiet, and save the late afternoon for the residential streets: the low-angled light shows off the façades and gardens. In summer, leave the car behind: the whole centre is better on foot or by bike.

Stay in the heart of Le Touquet's streets

Villa Mon Étoile is on rue d'Étaples, about 200 metres from rue Saint-Jean and 300 metres from the beach: you can walk to the market, the shops or the promenade without getting back in the car. Its two apartments can be rented together for large groups; see our page Le Touquet rental for 8 people. To round off your discovery, also read what to see in Le Touquet.