Deauville, Seaside resort in Normandy, France
Deauville is a coastal commune in the Calvados department of Normandy that stretches along the English Channel shore with a wide sandy beach and rows of elegant villas. The architecture combines half-timbered Norman houses with nineteenth-century buildings grouped around the central market square and the harbor area.
A Parisian nobleman developed the place from the mid-nineteenth century into a fashionable resort for wealthy visitors from the capital. The railway line opened shortly after made travel easier and strengthened its reputation as a summer retreat.
The wooden boardwalk displays colorful beach umbrellas, each one bearing the name of a film star who attended the festival over the decades. Visitors walking along the promenade can spot these celebrity dedications marked on the planks beneath their feet.
Most points of interest, shops and restaurants are within the compact town center and easily reached on foot. The beach remains open year-round, though summer and early autumn offer the mildest conditions for walking by the water.
The annual horse sales in August draw breeders and buyers from across Europe who come for the auction of thoroughbred yearlings. The grandstands fill with visitors who enjoy both the sporting event and the social gathering that surrounds the sale.
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