Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Les Parasols de Deauville 🏖️

 


Last Friday I went back to Deauville.


Home of the iconic beach umbrellas 🏖️
Since then 

I took a deep dive 

Into Parasol histoire.

The Deauville iconic beach umbrella

Is an offspring 

Of the individual Asian parasols of the ‘Roaring Twenties’.

Don’t you love ❤️ these old picture postcards?

In 1845 stripped parasols ⛱️ were de rigueur 

In 1950 Deauville decided to switch to heavy canvas parasols in solid primary colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange. 

450 parasols ⛱️ are specially made in a factory behind the boardwalk.

This is the”Deauville Knot” - the ‘Skirt’ part that becomes a changing room or shade from the sun 🌞 
You can rent a parasol by the day, week or season reasonably.


Sister city, Trouville-sur-mer, still has the old style striped parasols ⛱️ 

Deauville tourist office, by the yacht basin, has bucket hats, small trays, espadrilles, pillows made from the parasol canvas. It has AC (Salle Climatizé). 
A cool place to recover before catching the train 🚊 home.

I spotted these parasol cookies 🍪

I was feeling pretty hot 🥵 though Deauville is 10 degrees cooler than Paris.
After some ice cream 🍨 

I decided to buy a swim suit & cap on the boardwalk and take a refreshing dip in the salt water public pool 🏊🏽‍♀️ at La Piscine Olympique.


After the pool I plunked myself down on the boardwalk/Les Planches to paint.

I brought along my watercolor box.

Deauville PARASOLS watercolors are up  on Etsy.

And painted parasols till it was time to catch the 5:17 🚊 back to Paris Gare Saint-Lazare. Deauville is 2hrs17 minutes from Paris.
Are you ready?

Watch M.Hulot’s Holiday 🎥 to put you in a vacation mood.
I will go back on the Thursday. I missed seeing the Summer exhibition Raoul Dufy at Les Franciscaines.


31 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:45 AM

    Merci, Carol, pour ces jolies coleurs! But I wonder—what is the thing that is tied around the umbrellas in the Deauville knot? A towel? An umbrella cover?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:00 AM

      That is the ‘skirt’ that becomes a place to change or just relax on a deckchair. It’s called, THE DEAUVILLE KNOT ⛱️

      Delete
  2. Shirley L.9:45 AM

    Hi Carol. We were supposed to be in Deauville this week for Horse racing/sales. Sadly we couldn't make it as too much going on here at home. Looks so beautiful!
    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:02 AM

      I was thinking of you Shirley, when I saw the Deauville polo horses 🐎 parading through the town on Instagram today.

      Delete
  3. Bonnie L11:26 AM

    Quintessential summer, Carol❣️ Most of us grew up experiencing summers at the beach. This brings up fond memories. What a smarty you are buying a suit & cap to swim at the pool! Thank you for taking us along with you to the beach. ❤️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:52 PM

      Happy to share the beach any time 🏖️. My favorite place from childhood 🐚

      Delete
  4. Dee Ann11:28 AM

    Love your watercolors!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:53 PM

      Thank you Dee Ann ❤️

      Delete
  5. Sukicart12:24 PM

    I love your umbrella watercolors but prefer the stripes as they always make me think of the sea and summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:53 PM

      I agree Suki… I was thinking the same thing. Stipes are iconic for the seaside 🌊

      Delete
  6. What a glorious way to spend the day and you accomplished so much. Not only painting and swimming, eating ice cream, observing, but actually finding a swimsuit to buy...that can be quite a trick. Glad you shared the info about the umbrellas and their drop down skirts. So smart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:56 PM

      When you put it like that…it does seem a lot. Nice to feel free to follow your impulses at the seashore. The beaches are Very wide on the Coté Fleurie. You have to walk for ages to get to the ocean 🌊 Maybe Thursday I will get my feed in the sand…

      Delete
  7. Anonymous1:02 PM

    Beautiful, charming, serene post.......merci, Carol!! Patty, Mpls

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:58 PM

      Thank you Patty ❤️ I have visited Deauville quite a few times but I never looked up it’s picturesque history. More to come 👍

      Delete
  8. Margie2:19 PM

    Love these beach and parasol photos! Thank you, looking forward to seeing them on Etsy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:59 PM

      Thank you Margie ❤️ The watercolors are up on Etsy now.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous2:36 PM

    One of your best ever-- and I love them all! Thank you for brightening my day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:00 PM

      Thank you! So nice of you to say so 🙏 ❤️ 🏖️

      Delete
  10. Anonymous2:58 PM

    I love all your watercolors - especially the one of the beach in Trouville. So colorful and cheerful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:01 PM

      Thank you ❤️ The TROUVILLE stripped umbrellas are charming.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous3:23 PM

    Love all the umbrellas. Great idea. LYNNE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:02 PM

      Thank you Lynne ❤️ I must rent one someday for the true experience ⛱️

      Delete
  12. Alaina Warren Zachary4:53 PM

    GLORIOUS!!!! Made me want to shop the gift shop but I could not find the way. Such radiance! Xoxoxoxooxoxxo from NM

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:29 PM

      The Deauville tourism shop is a little hidden, but has the most sophisticated gifts I have seen in a French tourism office. I think because of Deauville’s connection with the ⭐️ movie 🎥 industry. And Coco Chanel opened her first shop there.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous5:04 PM

    That swimming pool!!! A spontaneous swim. I would have never left it.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:22 PM

      I did not want to leave the pool 🏊🏽‍♀️ but they close btwn 2 - 3. You can rent a towel(tapis) and bathing cap etc. there. Very convenient. Most French municipal pools have vending machines with everything you need to swim 👍

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:26 AM

      A Spontaneous swim 🏊🏽‍♀️
      I was going to bring my suit & decided not to 🤷‍♀️ Ha!

      Delete
  14. Anonymous5:10 PM

    My husband and I stopped in Deauville and Trouville-sur-mer a few years ago, it was dreamy. Love your umbrellas, they capture it beautifully.
    Nancy H

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:25 PM

      Thank you Nancy H. I used to think Deauville was snobby but now I discovered it is steeped in history - one of the early bathing (balinaire) places Parisians went to starting in the 1800s. The Anglo-Normand architecture is superb.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:31 AM

      I heard many languages spoken - Swedish, Portuguese, German…not much English. Not even included in many travel guides like STEVE RICKS.
      It’s a well-kept secret.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous1:38 AM

    Umbrellas - Charming
    AWA Catering

    ReplyDelete

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