Pauline
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In the UK on Channel 4 a new French detective series has started. Witnesses is set in northern France (Normandy, Picardy and the city of Lille).
The Guardian, Witnesses recap: episode one – things could get a little weird, July 22 2015
The series is set in Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy on the border with Picardy. We visited this area in September 2012. In the series Le Treport looks atmospheric but dreary with ugly modern houses. From the article "It bodes ... rather less well for the tourist board of Le Tréport (new suggested slogan: “where the sun never shines”), which looks thoroughly dreary and unwelcoming throughout."
It was sunny and packed with people the day we visited.
Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy
Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy
Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy
The opening sequence looked familiar to me and when I went back over my photos from that trip, I found the town with the beach huts. It is further up the coast in Cayeux-sur-Mer, Picardy. We spent the day at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, an historic town on the river, near the sea. This town is popular with French tourists, with lots of restaurants, lovely areas to walk and a pretty historic center. After exploring the town we drove out to the seaside and saw those beach huts.
Beach huts at Cayeux-sur-Mer, Picardy, used in the opening sequence.
Beach huts at Cayeux-sur-Mer, Picardy, used in the opening sequence.
Photo from the TV showing the opening sequence.
Here is the Google Map showing the place where I took the photos, but the beach huts are not there: https://goo.gl/maps/PZQ3K
The funicular in Le Treport is featured in the TV series, but we did not see it when we were there. Looking on Google Maps it is behind the main street where we had lunch and it goes up to a modern housing development, not the interesting forested lane they use in the TV series.
A few years ago I had the same experience watching the UK TV series Broadchurch when I realized it was filmed in West Bay, Dorset, a place we had visited a few times.
The Guardian, Witnesses recap: episode one – things could get a little weird, July 22 2015
The series is set in Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy on the border with Picardy. We visited this area in September 2012. In the series Le Treport looks atmospheric but dreary with ugly modern houses. From the article "It bodes ... rather less well for the tourist board of Le Tréport (new suggested slogan: “where the sun never shines”), which looks thoroughly dreary and unwelcoming throughout."
It was sunny and packed with people the day we visited.
Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy
Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy
Le Treport, a coast town in northern Normandy
The opening sequence looked familiar to me and when I went back over my photos from that trip, I found the town with the beach huts. It is further up the coast in Cayeux-sur-Mer, Picardy. We spent the day at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, an historic town on the river, near the sea. This town is popular with French tourists, with lots of restaurants, lovely areas to walk and a pretty historic center. After exploring the town we drove out to the seaside and saw those beach huts.
Beach huts at Cayeux-sur-Mer, Picardy, used in the opening sequence.
Beach huts at Cayeux-sur-Mer, Picardy, used in the opening sequence.
Photo from the TV showing the opening sequence.
Here is the Google Map showing the place where I took the photos, but the beach huts are not there: https://goo.gl/maps/PZQ3K
The funicular in Le Treport is featured in the TV series, but we did not see it when we were there. Looking on Google Maps it is behind the main street where we had lunch and it goes up to a modern housing development, not the interesting forested lane they use in the TV series.
A few years ago I had the same experience watching the UK TV series Broadchurch when I realized it was filmed in West Bay, Dorset, a place we had visited a few times.
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