Deauville is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France. With its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the “queen of the Norman beaches” and one of the most prestigious seaside resorts in all of France. Closest seaside when coming from Paris, the city and the nearby region of the Côte Fleurie (Flowers Coast) has long been home to French high society’s seaside houses and is often referred to as the Parisian riviera. Since the 19th century, the town of Deauville has been a fashionable holiday resort for the international upper class. Deauville is also a desired wealthy family resort.
During the 1960s, Deauville started to see a little more mass-market visitors. Yet, the town and the surrounding Côte Fleurie are still a high-profile seaside resort, haven for the rich and famous as well as for the more discrete families of French high society such as the Rotschilds who own some Norman manor nearby Deauville. Today, Deauville is easily accessible from Paris thanks in large part to the extension of highway A132.
Festival du Cinema Americain
In an effort to prolong the summer season Lucien Barriere and Michel d’Ornano agreed to sponsor Lionel Chouchon and Andre Halimi’s idea of a film festival that specifically promoted American films, both big-budget and independent features. 1975 was the festival’s first year of existence and “The Reincarnation of Peter Proud” was the first film to be shown in the festival’s history. Since 1975 the festival has continued to promote American cinematography as well as bring American and European stars to Normandy. The festival, not at all known for its competitive nature, began to hand out awards in 1995. In 2011, from September 2 to the September 11th, the Festival will be celebrating its 37th year. There will be over 100 films presented to the general public, using the following venues: le Centre International de Deauville, le Casino Lucien Barrière de Deauville, et le Cinéma le Morny. The events are open to the public as well as to all professionals involved. Website Festival du Cinema Americain
Groupe Lucien Barriere
Le Groupe Lucien Barriere is one of Europe’s largest hotel companies. Specializing in luxury hotels and casinos Groupe Lucien Barriere own 15 hotels and over 35 Casinos throughout France. Within Deauville The Groupe Lucien Barriere is a cornerstone. Owning two 5-star hotels, one 4-star, the casino and one renowned Golf Course it is hard not to notice the Groupe Lucien Barriere success.
