Dieppe is one of France’s oldest resorts and is often referred to as the plage de Paris (beach of Paris), being the nearest beach to the capital. It is also one of the prettier Channel ports, and was lucky to escape much of the bomb damage that affected so many of the other coastal towns in World War II. Dieppe has always retained its very individual, French identity but has long been popular with the British, attracting such famous characters as Oscar Wilde.