Last summer six cousins and I squeezed into a large estate car with all our camping gear and spent a few days pottering down the coast of northern France. We stayed at the many well-appointed campsites along the way (eg les Dunes at Plage St Gabriel - you can get a listing from the French Travel Centre). We spent the mornings devouring large numbers of patisserie, the days on the beach and the evenings cooking moules marinière over the campfire. Quite by accident, we stumbled across the resort town of Le Touquet. Within an easy drive of either Boulogne or Calais, Le Touquet is definitely worth aiming for as a destination in itself, as we found out.
In the early part of last century, it became so popular among the Parisian elite that it acquired its extended name Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, or Paris-on-Sea! Nowadays, it remains a favourite resort for locals and visitors alike. The centre of the town retains many of the original buildings, although apartment blocks have spoiled the beachfront somewhat. There is a large swimming pool complex with water slides and fountains which is a great place for kids (of all ages).
The town boasts a wonderful covered market in the middle where you can pick up local seafood, plus some very chic shops - strictly for window-shopping given the prices! Restaurants in the town tend to cater for all budgets ranging from 'not cheap' to 'extremely expensive'. Of course, as with anywhere it is possible to eat out cheaply if you look around. The nightlife is buzzing with a real party atmosphere.
Le Touquet has many hotels, mostly on the dearer side. For the more adventurous, there is a great campsite right at the mouth of the river with access to the extensive dunes. We camped there and it turned out to be really convenient for the town centre - being well within 'staggering home' distance after a night on the tiles. However, if you do choose to camp there, don't be surprised by the light aircraft passing overhead every few minutes - the town is so popular that there are scheduled flights from Biggin Hill in Sussex! If you can't afford to fly and don't have a car, you can still get there by train from Calais - just alight at Étaples and get a taxi across the bridge into town.
Inland from the town, the extensively irrigated and wooded valley of the Canche is fascinating to explore by car or bike. Going south, meanwhile, the coast offers extensive dunes, great camping and lots of little resorts.
For touring in northern France I used the yellow-covered Michelin road map Pas-de-Calais - Somme (Sheet 301). I would also recommend taking the relevant IGN Blue map - in this case IGN Blue map Le Touquet - Berck 2105ET - as this will allow you to explore the smaller roads without getting lost. The pick of the guides is by Michelin - Picardie, Flandres & Artois. One of the Green Guide series, this book gives information on where to stay, what to see and what to do. Malheureusement, it is only available in French at the moment. The AA pocket guide to Channel Hopping is worth a look, especially if your time is limited. It contains a useful overview of the highlights of the area.
Author: Matt Godfrey
Date: 1 August 2001
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