Deauville

At this seaside village two hours from Paris, I like to walk the Promenade des Planches, a boardwalk flanked by colorful houses and the ocean. Each fall, after the annual Festival du Cinéma Américain, cabanas along the Planches are named for celebrities who take part, like Morgan Freeman and Cate Blanchett. It is France’s Hollywood Walk of Fame! Famous Parisians like Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent always summered in Deauville. They opened some of their earliest boutiques here.