Le Touquet: The 'most British of French resorts'

11.09.2023 - 16:35 / bbc.com / Winston Churchill / Ian Fleming / Art

Overlooking the English Channel is a small resort town bedecked with freestone facades and half-timbered houses. English is heard everywhere, from the Art Deco Westminster hotel to the lighthouse, which, on the occasion of the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, was lit up with Her Majesty's favourite colours. The bells of city hall chime in an echo of Big Ben, and it was just announced that the town's airport will soon be rechristened after Queen Elizabeth II.

You wouldn't be alone in thinking this place is in Britain – but it's not. Le Touquet-Paris-Plage sits on the French Opal Coast and has long been known as the "most British of French resort towns".

"French tourists are always like, 'Oh, it's so English here!" said Kate Landry-Madden, a town council member. "And the English who come over are always like, 'Oh, it's so French in le Touquet! So, it's just this funny mixture of the best of both worlds, really."

The deep roots linking Le Touquet to the opposite shore began with the purchase of the town by John Robinson Whitley, a linoleum magnate from Leeds, in 1894. What had been established in 1837 as a haven for wealthy Parisians soon became a cradle for British gentry, complete with tennis courts and horse riding, all of which, according to Mayor Daniel Fasquelle, were "imagined to attract a British clientele". 

"It's not insignificant that le Touquet's golf course was inaugurated by the British prime minister in 1904," he said. 

With the 1913 completion of the Casino de la de La Forêt, Le Touquet became even more of a playground for affluent Brits, from playwright Noel Coward to Winston Churchill. The future King Edward VIII was a mainstay of the baccarat tables, and novelist Ian Fleming found inspiration here for the first James Bond book, Casino Royale. WriterPG Wodehouse even lived here from 1934 until he was interned by the Wehrmacht in 1940.

Some of Le Touquet's architectural heritage survived World War Two, with 21 buildings protected as historical monuments – the most of any French seaside resort. The link with Britain remained strong, bolstered by the airport, France's third largest at the time. It was at the Westminster hotel that, in 1962, Sean Connery signed his first James Bond contract, and "Le Westminster's" only suite is numbered 007 in his honour.

According to Fasquelle, it's the town's golf courses that have provided the most lasting draw for Brits. Fleming's Le Touquet home was located beside the 18th hole of the oldest of the three, La Forêt, while La Mer, a six-time French Open host, is perhaps the most famous. An internationally renowned equestrian park and 33-court tennis club only add to the draw for fans of sport. This year, Le Touquet is also welcoming the