Wimereux or Le Touquet: Which Opal Coast Resort Should You Choose?

Wimereux or Le Touquet? Both Opal Coast resorts were born in the 19th century and share a taste for villas and long promenades, but they do not offer the same kind of stay. Le Touquet is a larger resort, with a vast beach, a forest and a very wide range of activities; Wimereux is more compact, turned towards the cliffs and hiking. Here is our honest point-by-point comparison to help you decide.

Wimereux and Le Touquet: the comparison in one table

The beach: Le Touquet's vast expanse versus Wimereux's promenade

This is the most tangible difference. In Le Touquet, the fine sandy beach stretches for more than 12 kilometres, from the Canche bay to Stella-Plage. Even at high tide, there is room to lay down a towel, and at low tide the foreshore becomes a playground for sand yachting, kites or long walks.

In Wimereux, the beach is shorter and mixes sand and pebbles. At high tide, the water comes right up to the foot of the sea wall and the beach almost disappears. On the other hand, the promenade is a very pleasant place to spend time, with the sea just below, and the mouth of the Wimereux river creates a small landscape that changes with the tides.

• With young children: Le Touquet has the edge, as it is more forgiving of tide times.
• For watching the sea: Wimereux, especially in rough weather, when the waves crash against the sea wall.

Atmosphere and architecture

Wimereux, the Belle Époque resort

Wimereux has kept a remarkable collection of Belle Époque villas and buildings lined up facing the sea. Several are protected, and the walk along the promenade feels like a gallery of early 20th-century seaside architecture. The town is lively in summer but keeps a human scale: everything can be done on foot, from the market to the beach.

Le Touquet, the garden town

Le Touquet was built in the forest, to a plan that combines wide avenues with villas nestled among the pines. You will see a great variety of styles, from neo-Norman to Art Deco, as well as a shopping centre around rue Saint-Jean and the covered market. The resort is alive all year round, with recurring events such as the Enduropale in winter. To discover this heritage, read our article on Le Touquet's architecture.

Activities: golf, board sports and hiking

Both resorts are sporty, but in different ways.

• Golf: Wimereux has an 18-hole course, one of the oldest in France, between the sea and the countryside. Le Touquet has three, including La Mer, a links course ranked among the best in continental Europe. See our guide to golf in Le Touquet.
• Board and wind sports: the Wimereux sailing club offers sand yachting, kitesurfing, windsurfing, catamaran sailing and sea kayaking. In Le Touquet, the huge beach is one of the coast's great sand-yachting venues.
• Hiking: Wimereux wins here, as the southern gateway to the Grand Site des Deux-Caps. The coastal footpath (GR 120) leads to the Pointe aux Oies, Ambleteuse and Cap Gris-Nez.
• Cycling and horse riding: Le Touquet wins, with its forest cycle paths and riding centres.

History: two resorts, two stories

Wimereux was long part of Wimille before becoming a town in its own right in 1899. It also has a place in the history of telecommunications: that same year, Guglielmo Marconi set up an aerial there and made wireless links with England, across the Strait of Dover. Earlier, in 1785, the aeronaut Pilâtre de Rozier was killed there while attempting to cross the Channel by balloon.

Le Touquet was born from a property development: in 1882, Alphonse Daloz created Paris-Plage among the pine-planted dunes; the resort then attracted British visitors and became an independent town in 1912. Its whole story is told in the history of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.

Getting there and practicalities

From Paris, both resorts are reached via the A16 motorway: allow about 240 km and just under 3 hours for Le Touquet, and about 260 km and just over 3 hours for Wimereux, depending on traffic.

• By train to Le Touquet: Étaples-Le Touquet station is served by direct TGVs from Paris-Nord (about 2 hrs 30) and by TER trains. The station is a few minutes from the centre by car, bus or bike.
• By train to Wimereux: the small Wimille-Wimereux station is served by TER trains on the Boulogne–Calais line; from Paris, you usually change at Boulogne-sur-Mer.
• Getting around: both resorts can be explored on foot or by bike. In Le Touquet, the network of forest cycle paths makes a car almost unnecessary; in Wimereux, it remains handy for reaching the capes.

For accommodation, Le Touquet offers more choice, from hotels to holiday rentals; Wimereux, being smaller, fills up quickly in summer. Our pointers for choosing where to stay are in where to stay in Le Touquet.

So, Wimereux or Le Touquet?

Our view, by type of traveller:

1. You are coming as a family with young children: Le Touquet, for its beach usable at any time of day and its wide range of activities.
2. You are a hiker or photographer: Wimereux, at the foot of the Deux-Caps cliffs.
3. You play golf: Le Touquet, for its three courses, with Wimereux as a day trip.
4. You want a resort that stays lively out of season: Le Touquet, whose shops and restaurants stay open for much of the year.

The good news is that you don't have to choose: the two resorts are only 40 minutes apart. Many of our guests stay in Le Touquet and spend a day in Wimereux and at Cap Gris-Nez. Our other ideas for outings are gathered in day trips from Le Touquet.

Charles's tip: for a day in Wimereux from Le Touquet, check the tide times and aim for low tide. You can enjoy the beach, then walk along the foreshore to the Pointe aux Oies. Head home by the coast road via Boulogne for the sunset.

And if you opt for Le Touquet, our Villa Mon Étoile apartments are 300 m from the beach and 200 m from rue Saint-Jean.