Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
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| Commune of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage | |
| Location | |
| Longitude | 50° 31' 07" N |
| Latitude | 01° 35' 42" E |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Nord-Pas-de-Calais |
| Department | Pas-de-Calais |
| Arrondissement | Montreuil |
| Canton | Montreuil-sur-Mer |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de Communes Mer et Terres d'Opale |
| Mayor | Léonce Deprez (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 0 m–42 m (avg. 5 m) |
| Land area¹ | 15.31 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
5,640 |
| - Density (1999) | 347/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 62826/ 62520 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a coastal town and commune of the Pas-de-Calais département, in northern France. Population (2005): 8,500.
Le Touquet has a reputation as the most elegant holiday resort of northern France - the playground of rich Parisians, with many luxury hotels.
Contents |
[edit] History
The resort was created in 1876 by the owner of the Paris newspaper, Le Figaro. Then this was an area of wild sand dunes and forest - part of a hunting estate. It became known as "Paris by the sea", and strict building regulations encouraged the most talented architects to create imaginative and innovative developments.
[edit] Le Touquet and the wealthy English
In 1903, a British Gentleman bought the land, and set out to sell properties to the rich from across the English Channel. In the 1920s Noel Coward and the 'smart set' from England spent weekends here, and commissioned more outstanding villa designs echoing traditional and ultra-modern domestic styles. Today the town tourist office offers organised trails to see outstanding examples of 19th and 20th century domestic architecture, which are now preserved and protected.
[edit] Miscellaneous
Inland from the beach, hotels, casino and horse racing course, expensive villas are spaced out amid acres of woodland, offering every sport imaginable, particularly golf.
Every year in February, a spectacular motorbike & quad race called 'Enduro' brings hundreds of thousands of spectators to watch crowds of bikers race along the beach and through the dunes.
Le Touquet was the birthplace of Christian Ferras (1933-1982), violinist.
[edit] Twin towns
Le Touquet participates in international town twinning; its current partners are:
Winterberg, Germany (since September 1966), winter sports town
Rixensart, Belgique, green suburbs of Brussels
Witney, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, upscale seaside town in the suburbs of Tunis
Cary, North Carolina, United States
Eckbolsheim, France, 5 km from Strasbourg
[edit] Photo Gallery
 Le Touquet Celebration |
 Le Touquet Aqualud |
 Christmas band outside one of the Le Touquet's casino |
 Le Touquet sports centre |
 Christmas carol service in Le Touquet |
[edit] External links
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