Deauville, in days gone by......was a small farming village on Mont-Canisy, a hill rising above the sea.The hundred or so inhabitants of "Dosville", whose houses were clustered around the church of Saint-Laurent, lived mainly from agriculture and livestock farming. The marshes and the dunes, down from the village, where the future Deauville was to be built, were pastureland where cattle and sheep grazed. It was during the summer of 1858 that the Duke of Morny, Napoleon III's half-brother, who had been invited to Trouville by his physician, Doctor Olliffe, became inspired by the idea of building "a kingdom of elegance" close to Paris on this stretch of sand and marsh: the seaside resort of Deauville. Morny, in partnership with Doctor Olliffe, the banker Donon and the architect Breney, created a town in four years, whose casino, Grand Hôtel, beach and racecourse were soon to attract a clientele from the Parisian and international aristocracies... Over a period of three centuries, Deauville has remained up to date, developing from seaside resort, active for a few weeks in the year, to embrace the culture of the all year round week-end retreat, without for all that renouncing its cultural and architectural roots. The town is now engaged in the global protection of its environment, notably through the creation of an Architectural, Town Planning and Landscape Heritage Conservation Zone. This project, which is to include around 60% of the town, will prevent assaults on good taste and conserve the charm and typically Norman style of its heritage, which is just waiting to be discovered. We hope you enjoy your walk.
