Winter walks
8 invigorating hikes
In winter, we like to snuggle up under a blanket, comfortably installed in the sofa, without feeling the urge to go outside. However, winter hikes are an opportunity to enjoy an outing in nature filled with calm and serenity. The sun is mild, the lights are cold, time stands still. From the seaside dykes to the parks along the Touques River, while linking Saint-Arnoult and Deauville with the greenway, our itineraries are easy to walk, striking, and offer a new look at Deauville.
1. The seaside dykes, an iodized walk
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Behind the beach cabins, walkers like to stroll along the seawalls, looking for iodized air. Made of concrete or azobe wood, each one has its own atmosphere. A Villervillethe seawall promises a walk on the cliffs when the sea completely covers the beach. In Deauville, the mythical "Planches" are the symbol of the city, where the names of American actors and directors blossom every year on the lices bordering the Art Deco cabins. The seaside architecture is omnipresent on the dikes of Blonville-sur-Mer and Villers-sur-Merwhere the walkers walk, with the sea as far as the eye can see, accompanied by a string of villas, built in the second half of the 19th century. No matter what your desires are, you can enjoy the ephemeral scenery of winter and its charms: the soft sound of the waves' ballet, the clear blue of the sea, the impression that nature is resting before the summer season. At the end of the day, lovers of nature and beautiful colors like to linger and watch the last rays of the sun fade into the sea. The seaside walk is photogenic in any weather!
Favorite: all along the coast, from Villers-sur-Mer to Villerville, the Fauteuils en Seine, urban armchairs revisited by artists, dress up the dikes to discover the Côte Fleurie from a new angle.
2. The Parc des Lais de Mer, a garden facing the beach
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A garden in the city is good, by the sea is better. The Parc des Lais de Meris 4 hectares of greenery that begins at the western end of the Planches de Deauville and extends to Tourgéville. On one side, half-timbered residences and the majestic Hôtel Barrière Le Royal*****; on the other, the sea and the buildings of the former Centre Nautique de Deauville. Throughout the walk, silence reigns, the trees have lost their leaves, nature is recovering before blooming again. On the way, we meet sportsmen who have come to brave the winter and train on the wooden equipment of the health course, children who have gone to have fun on the playground and riders in search of gliding on the skatepark installations.
Favorite: in the middle of the garden, couples come to seal their love by hanging a padlock on the large blue heart-shaped hook.
3. The Touques, two parks on the bank
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The coastal river La Touques, one of the main waterways of the Pays d'Auge, runs through InDeauville. In Saint-Arnoult, its pedestrian banks, named The Boucles de la Touquesextend over 1.5 km and allow you to relax in the middle of nature. You can rest on a bench, play petanque or enjoy the playground for children. In addition to ducks and swans, fishermen can also fish for carp, as fishing is allowed. A hiking trail has been created, leading to the heights of Saint-Arnoult, the old church and chapel, dating from the 11th century and classified as a historical monument since 1970. At the entrance of Deauville, the Park of the Banks of the Touques is the green lung of the Touques peninsula. Often overlooked by visitors, this bank starts at the Pont des Belges and continues to the sea. Two paths are possible: one path is punctuated by a selection of images of Deauville as seen by photographers invited each year to the Planches Contact Festival; the second penetrates the vegetation thanks to a 99-meter long azobe wood walkway.
Favorite: the Parc des Rives de la Touques offers a breathtaking view of Trouville-sur-Mer, its fish market and its casino. An ideal spot to take out your camera and immortalize the moment.
4. The green way, to link Saint-Arnoult and Deauville
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The green lane connects the two city centers over a little more than 3km. What makes it unique? Its complete accessibility to pedestrians, rollerbladers, cyclists, and of course horseback riders. The walk follows the straight track of theDeauville-La Touques racetrack, crosses the Intercommunal Leisure Park, follows the banks of the Boucles de la Touques and passes behind the Pôle International du Cheval Longines - Deauville. The route is easy and quiet, winding through green spaces and trees, among horses, cows, ducks and swans!
Favorite : at dawn, from the Boulevard Mauger, passers-by have the chance to see the horses training on the fibrous sand track of the Deauville-La Touques racecourse. They are preparing for the day's races, organized for the Winter Meeting.
5. The Marais de Blonville-Villers, a vast protected reedbed
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The Marais de Blonville-VillersThe Marais de Blonville-Villers is 120 hectares of wet meadows, canals and ditches, an ecological richness partly protected by the Conservatoire du Littoral and a natural space with an unequalled fauna and flora. In its meadows grow hygrophilous plants such as phragmites, rushes and sedges. Here, pale green, brown, blue and, when the snow falls, white characterize this natural place in winter. The cows return to the barn and the grass no longer grows; they continue to feed on the marsh grass thanks to the hay harvested in summer. All year round, it is possible to observe the Grey Heron, but also the Starry Bittern from November to March.
Favorite: the Blonville-sur-Mer Equestrian Center takes advantage of its proximity to the marsh to organize horseback rides in the countryside, accessible to riders of all levels.
6. Mount Canisy, a panorama on the sea
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Located on the heights of Deauville, in Bénerville-sur-Mer, the Mont-Canisy dominates the Côte Fleurie at a height of 110 meters. Its strategic position, on a hill facing the bay of the Seine, meant that it was transformed several times into a coastal artillery position from 1793 to 1944. Today, it is a natural site protected by the Conservatoire du littoral which watches over its flora and fauna. It is home to more than 200 species of plants, several of which are protected. Among its fauna are three species of birds protected regionally (nightingale, spotted locustelle, hypolaïs polyglotte), several families of butterflies and a snake (coronelle lisse) protected nationally. The geological site of Mont-Canisy shows marine deposits rich in fossils and more particularly that of a coral reef, underlining the tropical climate that reigned in Normandy during the Jurassic period. With its military structures and natural caves, the site also favors the presence of bats.
7. The Parc des Graves, from the top of the cliffs of the Roches Noires
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At the bend of 800 meters of pedestrian paths, it is a large window on the sea which is offered to the walkers: right in front, the wild charm of Villerville beach, in the east, a point of view on Le Havre. The Parc des Graves is a vast green space where exotic vegetation, rare species, local plants (maritime crambe, Montpellier polypogon, fetid hellebore) and wild plant species cohabit all year round. A peaceful place to stroll, it is also a place to rest and have fun with a playground for children, picnic tables and petanque courts. From the park, a pathway leads directly to the beach, offering a completely different landscape for walking at the foot of the cliffs of the Roches Noires.
Favorite: two walking tours leave from the Parc des Graves; one of 6.8 km going to the semaphore located on the heights of Villerville, and one of 5.1 km along the coastal path. All of the inDeauville walking itineraries are available under this link.
8. The Falaises des Vaches Noires, a walk in the Jurassic period
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Rich from a geological, historical and environmental point of view, the cliffs of the Vaches Noires at Villers-sur-Mer are both surprising and dazzling. Their 100 meters height, their 4.5 km length and their composition - layers of clay, marl and chalk - are the result of the accumulation of marine sediments from the Jurassic period, about 160 million years ago. Now protected, their access is forbidden, but their beauty remains fully visible from the beach, when the tide goes out. If the guided tours are organized only from March to November, the Paleospacea museum dedicated to local paleontology, preserves and shares with the public all year round the scientific discoveries made at Villers-sur-Mer.
Favorite: at the foot of the cliffs, you can find ammonites, sea urchins, nautilus and also plesiosaurs and Ichthyosaurs. To take a breath of fresh air and to put yourself in the shoes of a paleontologist, collect fossils and other small trophies of an ancient time!
