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The beach at Dieppe
on the Normandy Coast
The broad lawns
between the Boulevard de Verdun and the
gravel beach were laid out in the 1860s by Napoleon III and his wife,
Eugénie.
Coming out from the
typically narrow European streets
in town, the boulevard and open lawn area have an expansive and nearly
Parisian feel about them. It probably makes Dieppe’s large
contingent of Parisian weekenders feel right at home. With the shortest
highway route to Paris of any beach resort, there are lots of them.
For a week in
September in even-numbered years, kite
flyers from all over the world flock to Dieppe’s beach and
create a
spectacle of airborne color. The heated Olympic-size pool, casino, and
tennis courts provide a variety of entertainment and recreational
options in addition to the (stony rather than sandy) beach itself.
A walk on the beach
stirs images of the 1942 invasion
force
of 6,100 British and Canadian troops who crossed the Channel and
invaded Dieppe, suffering a crushing defeat and great loss of life in
the futile attempt to execute Operation Jubilee.
Four kilometers
(2.4 miles) to the south of Dieppe on the road to Rouen is the Canadian
military cemetery.
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Beach
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