Lodgings are something of a challenge because it’s such a popular area. Inter-Hotel and the Mercure are fair and dependable. The Villa Josephine looks fantastic, but it's almost always fully booked. We're often en route before I call for rooms, so we invariably end up at one of the two huge, ideally situated, historic, but annoyingly overpriced Barriere establishments; the Royale or the Normandy. I don't mind luxury prices, nor do I find them particularly shocking, but both of these places charge upwards of 350 euros a night for stuffy rooms with synthetic bedding, cheap toiletries and substandard service that has included staff walking in without knocking and serious overcharges.

Still, once unpacked and out the door, it's heaven. Normandy boasts some impressive tides that cause the beaches to increase up to four or five times in size from high to low tide. In town there is an indoor marine-water pool, tennis courts, and a place to jog. At low tide you can walk for kilometers, passing several towns along the way. There's horseback riding along the shore, a golf course, and catamarans and bicycles for rent. Horse racing, a polo tournament, music and antique festivals round out the summer calendar.

If it all starts feeling a bit too wild and natural for your inner urbanite, there is the casino and a few nightclubs for entertainment. The shopping is high end, with Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Printemps having followed the crowd to the shore. Dupont is the place to be for the morning croissant and Martine Lambert has extraordinary ice creams for your afternoon snack.

If all this is too much of a scene, a short walk across the quai will lead you to Trouville, where the true fishermen live. This town is Deauville's low-key twin, with shops selling classic marine gear and beach toys. It's also home to one of Paris' favorite restaurants, Les Vapeurs, a simple brasserie that has overlooked the fish market since 1927. If you didn't know better, you'd never realize that this is where the elite come to dine. The menu features regional cuisine, with Normand meats, dairy and seafood. The moules frites are fantastic, but most Parisians go there for the butter. Yup, the butter.