The Normandy is the building that defines Deauville. Designed in 1912 by Théo Petit in the deliberately exaggerated Norman timber-frame style — half-timbering, pointed turrets, gabled roofs — it set the template for the resort's architectural identity. The result is more theatre than vernacular but unmistakably Deauville.
It remains one of France's most famous resort hotels, run by the Groupe Lucien Barrière. Even without a room booking, you can walk through the central courtyard — a long lawn ringed by half-timbered wings — or take afternoon tea in the bar. It is opposite the casino and a minute from the boardwalk; the photo of the courtyard with the gardens in the foreground is the second-most-taken picture in Deauville after the beach cabins.