The town of Le Tréport is a place unheard of to me until I started watching the hit French crime-drama television series, Les Témoins shown in the United Kingdom back in 2014 and after doing a bit of research, I found out the show was filmed here (the town of Le Tréport isn't mentioned in any of its six episodes).
Les Témoins (in English: Witnesses) is about a town full of dark secrets and all starts of in a house which has been put up for sale on the outskirts of the town, but inside the local police find a dead family which leads to the former chief-of-police Paul Maisonneuve (played by Thierry Lhermitte) coming into the plot. Having been retired for a few years because of a serious car accident in which he barely survived, he made a lot of enemies during his career. Now it's all coming back to haunt him.
Sandra Winckler (played by Marie Dompnier) who trained under Paul many years ago is now working with him to solve the murders and despite the fact they have different approaches on how to resolve the situation, the relationship on screen is fantastic. Add a Belgian detective, some grave diggers, a very strange girl who works in a cafe on the seafront and the storyline becomes very interesting.
I won't explain or go into detail about the storyline otherwise I will spoil it but once you have watched Les Témoins (Witnesses) then you will see why I came to Le Tréport. The town which is tucked into the north-eastern regional border of Normandie in Northern France and the setting, some of the buildings remind me of very similar places like the towns on the southern coastline of England. A typical port town but it has its own character. A huge church of Saint-Jacques overlooks the seafront and is the dominating feature which can be seen for miles.
However the main attraction here has to be the funicular and it's free! Taking passengers from the seafront to the main viewing point on the western side of the town. Running very regularly (every two minutes), this was also one of the main scenes on Les Témoins where Paul gets shot whilst he is traveling up to the terrace. The views from the top are amazing. In the summer months this would be the ideal place to go for a picnic but as I came here in November, it was cold, windy and bitter. I found this is the best place to park a car as the town itself isn't really ideal to park up. I paid €2.50 to park my car and the ticket is valid all day.
The seafront can look very old fashioned and a bit dull but here there are plenty of restaurants which offer a lot of fish meals. I also found the cafe used in the show where Laura works. The cafe looks so much bigger on the television but in reality it is very small. The town also has a casino. I am not interested in casinos as I am not much of a gambler but I came here as it was the scene where the Belgian detective gets shot and the street running alongside it is where he lays on the ground.
To be honest, that is Le Tréport. It is a small town however but it was worth visiting (as I like the television programme!) but there are other places nearby worth exploring. I also checked out the fallen bunker at Le Hourdel (which is about a twenty minute drive north of the town). This was also used as a filming location in the programme. Located on the beach, it can be a pleasant walk if the weather is right but I got hit by the rain and the wind. This area is known as the Bay of the Somme and on the sandbanks, seals are usually laying around doing nothing. When I visited, none were to be seen.
I also checked out one of the nicest castles I have seen in northern France, Château de Rambures. From the outside it's a splendid building to look at but as I was traveling out of season, it was closed.
There was something about driving around the countryside in this area. There were no cars on the road, no people to be seen, mist was forming everywhere. I only had a few hours on my first ever visit to the region but I came away having a mysterious feeling and I want to go back for more.
How to get to & where it is located: Le Tréport is located on the coast in the very northern parts of the Normandy region and just south of the regional border with Hauts-de-France. The nearest airport technically is Paris Beauvais which is 150km south-east of the town and takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to drive. Other airports further on would be Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly and Lille.
By train is a bit more awkward also as it takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes to get to Central Paris (when driving it can be done in half of the time). Trains depart and arrive at Le Tréport Hôtel de Ville and after twenty or so stops later, change at Abbeville for a train to Amiens, then a train will take passengers to Paris Gare du Nord from there. It is a bit of a mission I am afraid.
The nearest autoroutes for the town are the A16 (Dunkerque-Boulogne-Paris) and the A28 (Abbeville-Rouen-Le Mans-Tours).
Accommodation: There are a lot of accommodation options and a lot of websites which can do some great deals. My first point of call is always Booking.com and can offer a range of hostels, hotels, campsites, apartments, guesthouses, bed and breakfasts and they can also be booked up on my website (just go to the right hand side of the screen). After that I always have a look through AirBnb for great deals on apartments and other lodgings especially when traveling as a family.
Currency: France uses the Euro currency which is also widely used in most European countries. Currency can be exchanged at the airports and train stations (for a huge fee) so I would recommend either going to a currency exchange place downtown, to a bank (if they have good rates) or if you got a good bank account with fantastic exchange rates, then use an ATM machine (may incur a small fee but I always do this option as I got good bank accounts).
Language: It’s France, so it would be French. However at major tourist sites, a lot of staff do speak English (it is not like the old days where French people refuse to speak English, that has changed you will find the locals here love to practise their English as well as visitors trying to learn French).
Watch out for: As far as I am aware, there are no major scams to look out for. As always in Europe, watch out for the usual pickpockets or any pretty crimes but I felt very safe in Le Tréport.
Flying into this area? Then I would recommend using Skyscanner to find flights as that is my first point of call. Then if necessary use the airlines directly to find a good deal. I sometimes use Momondo as well to compare prices before booking.
Travel insurance: This is essential to anywhere you go in the world. I always carry travel insurance. Having travel insurance will cover you from theft, illness and those annoying cancellations which can happen on the road.
Need a visa for France? Always check if you need a visa when coming to France, especially for those who come from outside Europe.
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