Tous à la plage ! Naissance et évolution des stations balnéaires

Summer feels almost like a distant memory now, but Paris’s Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine aims to give visitors a tropical buzz this winter with a beach-themed show from October through to February. Whisking visitors through all manner of seaside settings – from the icy English Channel to the warming Mediterranean – ‘Tout à la Plage’ unveils the secrets behind beach resort planning and architecture, from their modest origins in the 18th century to their astronomic proportions today. The very particular art de vivre of Western beach-goers – as immortalized in literature and film – is emphasised throughout, with a little addendum dedicated to the less familiar beach cultures of China and Dubai.


TRANSLATION: HUW OLIVER