Who could have imagined that in 1858 the little Normandy village and marshes called "Dosville", built on the slope around the Saint Laurent church, would become an internationally famous resort ?
It was then that the visionary Auguste de Morny, while on holiday in Trouville at Doctor Olliffe's house, looked with envy over the neighbouring marshlands. The half-brother of Napoleon the Third, this politician and financier was one of the major figures of Parisian life at the time.
Deauville came out of the sand between 1860 and 1864 with its first villa, a hippodrome – Morny was a lover of horses – and a train link to Paris.
DEAUVILLE THE MUSE :
In 1911, a meeting between two men gave Deauville a new lease of life. Désiré Le Hoc, Mayor of the town and Eugène Cornuché, who managed the famous Maxim's restaurant in Paris, boosted the town's activity by building the casino in 1912 and the major hotels (the Normandy in 1912 and the Royal in 1913). The biggest names in the business and political world hurried to Deauville; this was the "Belle Époque".
The town also inspired many artists such as Coco Chanel, who opened one of her first boutiques there, the already famous couturier, Paul Poiret, a number of painters like Dufy, Fujita, Van Dongen, writers, poets, and caricaturists like Apollinaire, Sacha Guitry, Colette, Sem, etc. This craze for Deauville continued throughout the "Golden Twenties". The seaside resort continued to expand: a second hippodrome in 1928, the Hôtel du Golf and its golf course in 1929, the airport in 1931, and so on.
INTERNATIONAL SCOPE :
After the Second World War, Deauville continued to improve and started to receive visitors all year round. Short weekend breaks became frequent and the town started to receive more and more international guests. In 1962, Michel d'Ornano became mayor and Lucien Barrière succeeded his uncle, François André, at the head of the major hotels and the casino. Together, they continued the resort's development: construction of the Olympic-size seawater swimming pool, a thalassotherapy centre, etc.
The camera of the film director, Claude Lelouch, put Deauville under international spotlights, forever connecting the town to romanticism and the lyrics "Chabadabada" (theme music from his film "Un homme et une femme"). His film "Un homme et une femme" (A Man and a Woman) received the Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes in 1966, two Hollywood Oscars and 47 international awards. In 1977, Anne d'Ornano succeeded her husband as mayor of the town. Keen for her town to buzz all year round, she inaugurated the Centre International de Deauville in 1992, which is now a hub for business tourism. Since 2001, Philippe Augier, Mayor, continues the development of Deauville and invests in new equipments - equestrian complex, cultural centre, building of a new area on the Touques peninsula -, protects and values the heritage, and increase the cultural events....
A CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Over the years, Deauville has added major events to its calendar: the American Film Festival, which has been a gathering for American stars since 1975; the Asian Film Festival, created in 1999; horse races all year round thanks to the installation, in 2003, of an all-weather track; international horse auctions; an annual polo competition, which brings together the world's best players; the Grand National show jumping competition and RIDE (Rencontres internationales des disciplines équestres – international meetings of horse-riding disciplines), which completes Deauville's connection with horses. Deauville is also a meeting point for universes and cultures (Women's Forum for the Economy and Society since 2005), innovations (Omnivore Food Festival since 2008).
CULTURE IN DEAUVILLE
Deauville is also the ideal setting for a cultural pause far from the hustle and bustle of big towns. In addition to Asian and American cinemas, there are the music festivals (Easter Festival since 1997 and August musical created in 2002), where it isn't rare to discover some great talent. Deauville perpetuates the tradition of its cultural past by organising a score of shows each year. For example, major works of the past that have been revamped and updated (theatre, dance, etc.), new trends (urban dance, songs, jazz, etc.) that arouse interest, the opportunity to talk with writers invited of the Book show « Literature and Musics » and "Deauville à livres ouverts", to take part in conferences and exhibitions, etc.