Villers-sur-Mer () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

department in Normandy, northwestern France, with a population of 2,644 as of 2017.

Geography

The commune is located on the French coast of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, on the Côte Fleurie, between

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film F ...

and

Houlgate Houlgate () is a small tourist resort in northwestern France along the English Channel with a beach and a casino. It is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region. History Pre-19th century Houlgate developed as a hamlet in t ...

, approximately 200 km from Paris. It is the northernmost French commune through which falls the

Prime meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

. The latter is represented on the seafront promenade with a blue mark on the ground and on the parapet. This mark is positioned 32 metres west of the actual meridian in use today, the

IERS Reference Meridian The IERS Reference Meridian (IRM), also called the International Reference Meridian, is the prime meridian (0° longitude) maintained by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS). It passes about 5.3 arcseconds east ...

History

It seems that Villers-sur-Mer (then known as ''Villers'') was more akin to a group of

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

during the early 19th century. According to the Cassini map (drawn in the 18th century), Villers at that time is made up of a church, two farms (''La Motte'' and ''Fontaine''), and a castle.

Population

The town had a population of 2,644 in 2017, posting a growth of just under 50 residents between then and 2007.Population en historique depuis 1968
INSEE

Sights

Villers-sur-Mer is known for the large topiary dinosaurs facing the sea from the garden of the office of tourism. In certain years, a baby dinosaur is added to the garden. It is the starting point of the Vaches Noires cliffsa site where many

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s have been discovered. There is a small museum in the enclosure of the office of tourism, which has an outline of the resources and discoveries. It is a place widely known by specialists in the ammonites and other fossils.

Curiosity

On the beach of Villers-sur-Mer (last stretch of rue Alfred Feine), the famous last scene of the first film by François Truffaut was shot: '' Les Quatre Cent Coups'' ends with a freeze frame of its boy hero running towards the sea.

Transportation

Villers-sur-Mer station is on the line from

Dives-sur-Mer Dives-sur-Mer (, literally ''Dives on Sea''; nrf, Dives sus Mé) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. History It was from harbour of Dives-sur-Mer that William the Conqueror set out on the Norman Conques ...

. The station building is no longer open but train services operate year-round on weekends, and also on weekdays during the summer.

References

External links

Official site
Communes of Calvados (department) Seaside resorts in France Calvados communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Calvados-geo-stub