Rugby Travel guide to Le Touquet
The French seaside hotspot of Le Touquet became Twickenham-on-sea in 2023 by hosting England during the Rugby World Cup. In this hidden gem of northern France, the Opal coast resort has attracted English aristocrats since the twenties and thirties. Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Le Touquet.
What’s Le Touquet like?
Small, glamourous, and by the seaside, Le Touquet has charmed French and British holiday-makers alike since the 1920s.
Having risen out of the barren sands of the Opal coastline, the town has a unique character with acres of pine trees (planted over 150 years ago) leading to wide, ambling boulevards that merge with a picturesque town, then to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Its buildings reflect the height of pre-war elegance and sophistication giving a time-capsule quality to the town.
What are Le Touquet’s claims to fame?
How long have you got? At one point in its relatively young history, Le Touquet was the weekend escape of choice for the British ‘smart set’, spearheaded by Noël Coward. Other famous Brits of that era known to spend time in Le Touquet were Winston Churchill and PG Wodehouse, whilst Marlene Dietrich was also a fan. Even James Bond author, Ian Fleming, fell in love with the town, choosing it as the opening location for On Her Majesty’s Service. One of his most famous novels, Casino Royale, also draws huge influence from the casinos and five-star establishments associated with the destination. These days, French President Emmanuel Macron is a frequent visitor, as his wife’s family owns a house near to the main street, Rue Saint-Jean.
How do I get there?
From Paris, you can reach Le Touquet by train in just over two hours, by car it’s three. While from Lille, it can only take an hour when travelling by train at certain times of the day. For both journeys, you are looking at about £30 for a single ticket. From Lille by car you are looking at two and a half hours.
There is a local airport where light aircraft can land and take-off but only through private companies.
What do I have to see in Le Touquet?
Cruising around the main streets, diving in and out of shops and eateries is the main tourist experience in Le Touquet. This can keep you occupied for days as the Anglo-Norman and neo-medieval architecture has a transportive quality. After just a couple of hours of taking in the sights, you don’t feel like you’re in France anymore, you feel like you are back in time. The stylistic effect behind so many of its buildings is known locally as ‘Touquettoise’.
There are however, various landmarks to keep an eye out for. First and foremost, Le Westminster hotel. Built almost 100 years ago in 1924 it is the standard bearer for elegance in le Touquet, and, at odds with its surroundings, is art deco in style. The hotel invokes the jazz age and is reportedly where Sean Connery signed his first contract to become James Bond in the early 1960s.
It’s also worth hiking up to the 274 steps to the top of Le Touquet’s lighthouse: Le Phare de la Canche. An. pleasing octagonal structure from the outside which offers a stunning view of the town and the surrounding countryside from the top.
What can I do in Le Touquet ?
There are many activities to keep you busy in Le Touquet. The majority of them can be found near the beach. While the waves rolling in off the Atlantic are great for body boarding and larking around, for something more organised head to the Wake Park. The park has a 100m long pool where wakeboarders can be towed by cable over slides and other obstacles. We’re told it’s relatively easily to pick up. For those preferring more traditional water sports such as kayaking, paddleboarding, dinghy sailing, windsurfing or simply powering a pedalo, head to the Canche Bay watersports centre, which is nicely located around the corner from the main beach, and sheltered much better from the wind.
Away from the water’s edge, you’ll find endless tennis courts available to play on and a first-class golf course – Golf du Touquet – which suits beginners as much as experienced golfers, with three different courses to play on. Its links course, La Mer, has even hosted the French Open on six occasions. Playing on La Mer will set you back €110 whilst playing on it’s 9-hole course will cost €40.
Where to go for a drink in Le Touquet?
The bars and restaurants along the main boulevards leading to the beach are the best places for a drink in le Touquet. The back-to-back establishments lining the road provide a vibrant and consistent atmosphere so you can’t go wrong. L’impasse and Le Globe Trotter are two great jumping off points for a beer (or coffee). And both are located just off Rue Saint-Jean.
For something more sophisticated, do head to Le Westminster for a cocktail, or to Jean’s Café, both invoke a feeling of pre-war class and chic.
Where to eat in Le Touquet?
Le Touquet is chiefly about fish and it has some of the very best fish restaurants in France to savour.
Pérard is one of them. There’s plenty of competition but its showpiece dish may well be its Plateau Prestige, an assortment of Fruits de Mer which is a life experience just to see approaching your table, let alone tucking in to it. But at €64.50 per head, it’s pricey. Eaters on a more moderate budget could go for one of the excellent set menus. It’s half the price and is still a three-course meal, featuring classic fish dishes such as Perard’s famous fish soup, created in the 1960s by owner Serge Perard.
La Base Nord is also well worth a visit for lunch or dinner. Located down by the sailing club, it is an old coastguard watch tower that has been given a boujie makeover – the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the town centre. Manager Florian’s ethos is to make classic French food using only French produce, so Fruits de Mer won’t be found here – skate and cod will be. Its cocktails are heavenly as well.
If you are on the go, or after more of a snack, then the crepes at Aux Mignardises on the main drag of Rue Saint-Jean are unrivalled. You’ll notice it because a group of people will be queueing outside but the wait shouldn’t be more than five minutes. They work quick. This family creperie has been part of the fabric of Le Touquet for two generations. In the 1980s, its proprietors, the Veron family, also opened an ice cream house called Le Glacier Touquettois, where they make their own produce without industrial colourings. Step forward therefore: basil-flavoured sorbet. It’s totally delicious and an ideal thirst quencher on a hot day.
What are the best places to stay in Le Touquet?
At odds with its past, Le Touquet has few luxurious hotels – Le Westminster being in a class of its own (a class that comes with a price tag of almost £500 per night). Most other hotels don’t come anywhere near that and are under £200 per night. Le Touquet’s bed-and-breakfast scene, however, is thriving with a lot of competition on the market, including through Airbnb. It might take some shopping around to get the best deal at a place that suits your needs but they’ll be plenty of options. Currently, the average price ranges from £100 to £200 per night but that may well increase during the Rugby World Cup.
The England rugby team, by the way, are staying at the Holiday Inn resort, set back from the central part of town but just a short walk from the team’s training facilities. They have booked out most of the hotel for the duration of their stay but there should still be rooms available to the public. You could bump into Ellis Genge at reception, or Freddie Steward at the swimming pool, or Owen Farrell in the games room.
Are there any campsites in or around Le Touquet?
There are plenty of campsites in the area for those looking to pitch tents, motorhomes or caravans. The Stoneham Caravan Park is an ideal location between the forest and the sea, only a kilometre from the town centre. It has a total of 205 pitches for visitors as well as a variety of mobile home rental options. It is a beautiful, family friendly site, with easy access to cycle paths and beach activity centres.
Le Côte d'Opale, or Opal Coast, campsite is another well-recommended option if you want a more rural experience when visiting Le Touquet. There are 140 pitches available for those looking to rent a motor home or pitch a tent. The site is near the golf course, and within walking distance of the town.
What’s nearby?
Le Touquet was once regarded as an oasis in the sands but there is more to do locally than meets the eye. It is not far from the famous battle fields of World War I and visits to the moving memorials of Thiepval and Arras are under two hours away by car. Near Thiepval is the Newfoundland Memorial Park, where an entirely undisturbed stretch of trenches dug for the Battle of the Somme can be found. Thanks to the deeply knowledgeable tour guides it really is possible to get an insight into what soldiers saw and how they lived during those fateful days in history.
If military history is not your scene, it’s worth remembering that if Parisians can happily make the trip down to Le Touquet at weekends, the reverse journey can’t be too arduous. So, within two hours you could get acquainted with all the cosmopolitan delights of the French capital, and still make it back to Le Touquet for a dip in the ocean.
How do I find out more about Le Touquet?
For more information on Le Touquet, visit en.letouquet.com/