Experience the best of Deauville

Deauville was laid out in the 1860s as a seaside resort for Parisians, and it has kept its Belle Époque polish. The Planches, a long boardwalk beside the beach, is lined with striped bathing cabins that carry the names of film stars and directors, and behind it stand half-timbered villas, the casino and grand hotels. Coco Chanel opened a boutique here in 1913.

Across the Touques river, Trouville-sur-Mer has a busy fish market and a seafront of old villas, and the harbour town of Honfleur lies a short drive east. Racing and polo are part of the summer calendar, and the American Film Festival fills the town each September. Inland, the Pays d'Auge has half-timbered farms and orchards around Beuvron-en-Auge, and the Normandy landing beaches begin to the west.

Platters of oysters and mussels, sole in cream sauce and shrimps come from the sea, while the orchards behind the coast supply cider, calvados and apple tart, and Camembert, Livarot and Pont-l'Évêque cheeses come from the dairy farms inland. Summer fills the beach, but the broad sand is just as good for a windy winter walk.