Saint-Jean Street

You’re now walking along Rue Saint-Jean, the main artery and most iconic street in the seaside resort of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. Stretching from the seafront to the roundabout by Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc Church, it forms a direct link between the beach and the town’s bustling shopping district. Largely pedestrianized today, it offers a lively, stylish, and welcoming atmosphere that draws both visitors and locals. Its story begins in the late 19th century, when Le Touquet was still a quiet stretch of pine forest by the sea. As British and French investors developed the resort, Rue Saint-Jean quickly became a key thoroughfare. Laid out in the early 1900s, it was soon lined with Anglo-Norman villas, picturesque chalets, and elegant boutiques. Parisian high society, soon joined by a broader European elite, made it a fashionable address. In the Roaring Twenties and Thirties, it was the heart of Le Touquet’s glamorous social scene, home to haute couture houses, fine jewelers, elegant tearooms, bookstores, and charming hotels. The street had a cosmopolitan air, and it’s said that famous names like Édith Piaf, Winston Churchill, and Serge Gainsbourg once strolled its paving stones. Today, Rue Saint-Jean retains its character while embracing the present, offering a wide range of shops, from fashion and home décor to regional specialties, artisan chocolate, art galleries, and perfumeries, along with cafés, brasseries, crêperies, and ice cream parlors. On your left, don’t miss the Village Suisse, a delightful cluster of wooden chalets built in the early 20th century. Inspired by Alpine architecture, they evoke the charm of the resort’s very first neighborhoods. Now housing boutiques, they add warmth and originality to this part of the street. Another must-stop is Le Chat Bleu, a historic chocolate shop founded in 1929 that still delights sweet-toothed visitors with its handmade creations. But Rue Saint-Jean is more than just a shopping street, it’s the town’s beating heart. Throughout the year, it hosts events, light displays, markets, and even street bands. At Christmas, it transforms into a festive wonderland, glowing with fairy lights and decorated shop windows. The very backbone of the resort, it perfectly captures Le Touquet’s spirit: elegant, vibrant, welcoming, and deeply connected to its history.