Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; ; , older ), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a population of 4,227 (2019), but welcomes up to 250,000 people during the summer. Located on the Opal Coast, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the shoreline of the English Channel, the seaside resort has been nicknamed the "Garden of the English Channel" (), the "Pearl of the Opal Coast" (), the "Sports Paradise" () or the "Four Seasons Resort" (). The city bears the scars of wounds inflicted during World War II by the construction of the Atlantic Wall, the planting of mines prior to the German withdrawal and intensive Allied bombings. Nevertheless, part of the architectural heritage of Le Touquet was left intact. A number of unique villas have been preserved that evoke the seaside architecture of the Roaring Twenties and the 1930s. Although nowadays dominated by buildings from the 1950s to the 1980s, Le Touquet also possesses an important architectural heritage of Anglo-Norman style as well as twenty-one buildings protected as historical monuments, which make it the most awarded French seaside resort. Geography Le Touquet is located on the left bank of the mouth of the Canche river on the coast of Pas-de-Calais, 23 km south of Boulogne-sur-Mer. It is in a coastal region that is frequently referred to as the 'Côte d'Opale' (the Opal Coast), a name that evokes the iridescent reflections of the setting sun on the sea. The town looks out onto the English Channel. Its beach starts at the mouth of the Canche river in the north and extends more than 12 kilometers towards Berck in the south. It is a west-facing beach, lined with dunes and with very fine sand. The municipal territory consists of a series of small sandy plains, including some wetlands, which are surrounded by sand dunes, some of which reach a height of 36 meters. A Natura 2000 site has been designated that covers the dunes, marshes and forests of the commune. Under this programme, Member States undertake to protect the habitats and species in the designated zones. Origins of the town The town of Le Touquet was given its full name by Hippolyte de Villemessant (1812–1879), founder and owner of the Paris newspaper Le Figaro. At the time it was an area of wild sand dunes and forest – part of a