France’s Ghost Village Reclaimed By Artists – Pirou-Plage Resort

Pirou-Plage, an abandoned beach resort in Normandy, has found new life thanks to artists. Originally left unfinished due to a financial disaster in the 1990s, this ghost town remained eerily quiet until the 2000s. That’s when squatters and ravers stumbled upon its colorful, half-built houses. Today, it’s transformed into a vibrant hub for artists and filmmakers, evolving into an open art project for everyone to enjoy.

The 17-acre land sits just a few hundred yards from the beach, tucked behind a charming natural dune. The grand vision was to create a holiday village with 75 houses, a hotel-club, and two tennis courts, all in a small seaside town with just 1,500 residents.

The promoter was a smooth talker and managed to sell all the houses—at least on paper. But they didn’t bother to set up essential services like water, electricity, or drainage. By April 1992, construction had started on 25 houses when everything came to a sudden halt. The promoter disappeared with the investors’ money, leaving Pirou-Plage as a failed dream rather than a holiday village.

The new houses in Pirou-Plage were quickly ransacked, with anything that could be carried off disappearing. Left without doors, windows, and roof tiles, these empty shells became a hangout for squatters and ravers who came and went freely. It turned into a seasonal ghost village, open to anyone.

In the 2000s, Pirou-Plage took an unexpected turn when it started attracting artists. Street artists, painters, photographers, and filmmakers brought life back to the abandoned resort. In 2014, the area gained more attention through projects by renowned photographer and street artist JR, and filmmaker Agnès Varda. Word spread, and Pirou-Plage became a trendy spot. However, this revival was short-lived. Local authorities decided to demolish the graffiti-covered structures, and by 2016, the site was completely leveled.