, 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.
The resort was created in
1876 by the owner of the Paris newspaper, ''
Le Figaro ''. Then this was an area of wild sand
Dune s 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.
In 1903, a British syndicate 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.
Inland from the beach, the hotels,
Casino ,
Horse Racing Course and 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 racing along the beach and through the dunes.
Le Touquet was the birthplace of
Christian Ferras (
1933 -
1982 ),
Violinist .
