Calais is the leading passenger port in France and the second in the world with traffic totalling 20 million passengers a year. The town gave its name to the Pas-de-Calais, the strait known on the north side of the Channel as the Straits of Dover. The history of the town has been considerably influenced by its proximity to the English coast, only 38km/23.5mi away. The white cliffs of Dover are often clearly visible from the promenade and the vast sandy beach west of the entrance to Calais harbour. Calais is the ideal starting point for excursions along the Opal Coast to Le Touquet.
= Population: 75 711
T Michelin Map: 301 E 2
i Info: 12 bd Clemenceau. t03 21 96 62 40. www.calais-cotedopale.com.
Ñ Location: Calais is on the channel coast 34km/21mi NE of Boulogne-sur-Mer and 54km/34mi SW of the border with Belgium.
õ Parking: There is plenty of metered street parking in Calais-Sud. Place d‘Armes in Calais-Nord is a useful parking area.
w Don’t Miss: Rodin‘s remarkable Burghers of Calais, near the town hall.
> Timing: As well as the sights, allow plenty of time to browse Calais‘ excellent shops.
The “Chunnel” is the realisation of more than two centuries of dreams and un-finished projects.
From utopia to reality
Over the past 250 years there have been 27 proposals, the oldest of which was made in 1750 by M Desmarets, who wanted to rejoin Britain to the mainland by a bridge, a tunnel or a causeway. From 1834 onwards, Aimé Thomé de Gamond, who is known as the “Father of the Tunnel”, put forward several different propositions, all of them technically viable.
In 1880, 1 840m/over 1mi of galleries were dug out on the site called the “Puits des Anciens”; 2 000m/1.25mi were tunnelled out on the English side before the work was stopped. A fresh approach was tried in 1922. The technical progress of the 1960s gave the project a boost but a 400m/433yd gallery was abandoned once again.
During a Franco-British summit conference in September 1981, the idea of building a fixed link was again mooted by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President François Mitterrand. In October 1985, after an international competition, four projects were shortlisted and it was the Eurotunnel project which was finally selected, on 20 January 1986. A Franco-British treaty was signed on 12 February 1986 in Canterbury Cathedral with a view to the construction of the tunnel. The first link between France and England was established on 1 December 1990. The official opening of the tunnel and of the Shuttle service took place on 6 May 1994.
Most of the tunnel lies at a depth of 40m/130ft below the seabed, in a layer of blue chalk. The trans-Channel link consists, in fact, of two railway tunnels 7.60m/25ft in diameter connected every 375m/406yd to a central service gallery 4.80m/16ft in diameter built for the purposes of ventilation, security, and system maintenance. Each tunnel contains a single track along which run trains in one direction only, taking passengers and freight. The tunnels have a total length of 50km/31mi, of which 40km/24mi are beneath the Channel.
After his success at Crécy Edward III of England needed to create a power-base in France. He began the siege of Calais on 3 September 1346, but eight months later had still not been able to breach the valiant defence led by the town governor, Jean de Vienne; in fact, it was famine that forced the inhabitants to capitulate in the end.
Six burghers, led by Eustache de Saint-Pierre, prepared to sacrifice themselves in order that the other citizens of Calais would be spared the sword. In thin robes, “barefoot, bareheaded, halters about their necks and the keys to the town in their hands”, they presented themselves before the king to be delivered to the executioner. They were saved by the intercession of Edward’s wife, Queen Philippa of Hainault.
Calais was in the hands of the English for over two centuries and liberated only in 1558, by the Duke of Guise.
This was a mortal blow to Mary Tudor, Queen of England, who said: “If my heart were laid open, the word ‘Calais’ would be engraved on it.”
Together with Caudry-en-Cambrésis, Calais is the main centre of machine-made lace, employing about 2 000 workers using over 350 looms. Englishmen from Nottingham introduced the industry at the beginning of the 19C; quality was improved around 1830 when the first Jacquard looms were introduced.
Three-quarters of the lace made in Calais is exported. Traditional lace made with the Leavers machine is entitled to a quality label created in 1991, representing a peacock.
Monument des Bourgeois de Calaisaa
This famous work by Rodin, The Burghers of Calais, is located between the Hôtel de Ville and Parc St-Pierre. It dates from 1895 and exemplifies the sculptor’s brilliance. Each of the six life-size figures should be admired separately: their veins and muscles exaggerated, their forms tense and haughty.
Hôtel de ville
The beautiful and graceful town hall is built of brick and stone in the 15C Flemish style yet dates only from the turn of the last century. The belfry (75m/246ft) can be seen for many kilometres in all directions. Inside, a stained-glass window recalling the departure of the English diffuses the sunlight over the grand staircase.
Place d’Armes
Before the devastation of the war, this was the heart of medieval Calais. Only the 13C watchtower has survived. The belfry and the town hall beside it are popular subjects for artists.
To the left is the Bassin Ouest; to the right is the Bassin du Paradis and the rear harbour used as a marina.
Burghers of Calais by Rodin, Hôtel de ville
Y. Thierny/ MICHELIN
z Guided visits (30min) Tue–Sun 10am–noon, 2–5.30pm. |P4.50 (children, P2). t03 21 34 33 34.
The lighthouse (53m/174ft tall; 271 steps) was built in 1848 to replace the watchtower beacon.
From the top there is a surprisingly wide and splendid panoramic viewaa over Calais, the harbour, the basins, the town’s stadium, place d’Armes and the unexpectedly large Church of Our Lady.
Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentellea
j>Open daily except Mon 10am–noon, 2–6pm, Sat 10am–noon, 2–6pm, Sun 2–6pm; Nov–Mar 10am–noon, 2–5pm, Sat 10am–noon, 2–5pm, Sun 2–5pm >Closed public holidays. |P4 t03 21 46 48 40. www.calais.fr.
The fine arts and lace museum gives an insight into changes in sculpture over the 19C and 20C and styles of painting between the 17C and 20C.
19C and 20C sculpture features works by Rodin and the studies he made for The Burghers of Calais. Also works by Rodin’s predecessors, including Carrière-Belleuse, Carpeaux, Barye, and his students, Bourdelle and Maillol.
Paintings from the 17C to the 20C by the Flemish and North European schools. There are also works by modern and contemporary artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Félix Del Marle, Picasso, Fautrier, Lipchitz and Arp.
The lace section, in a former tulle- making factory, deals with machine-made and hand-made lace (the museum owns more than 400 000 samples of machine-made lace).
Ñ Dunkerque is 50km/31mi E of Calais; 78.8km/49mi NW of Boulogne-sur-Mer. i Beffroi, r. de l’Amiral-Ronarc’h. t03 28 66 79 21. www.ot-dunkerque.fr.
Although it was almost entirely destroyed in WW II, the rebuilt town has an attractive centre with a pleasant atmosphere, appealing bars and good shops and museums. Dunkerque (Church of the Dunes in Flemish) was originally a fishing village, whose transformation into the principal port of Flanders began as early as the 14C. It was taken by Turenne after his victory in the Battle of the Dunes in 1658, and given to England in recognition of her help in the struggle against Spain. The town was repurchased by France in 1662. It was now that Dunkerque became the abode of smugglers and of pirates pressed into the service of the king. In the course of Louis XIV’s reign, a total of 3 000 foreign ships were captured or destroyed and the trade of the Netherlands completely wrecked. The most intrepid of these privateers was Jean Bart (1651–1702). Despite his vocation, the town is proud of him: his statue of 1848 by David d’Angers stands in the square named after him.
Demolition of the fortifications in 1713 (one of the conditions of the Treaty of Utrecht) brought about a decline in Dunkerque’s fortunes, notwithstanding improvements in the port facilities. The German breakthrough at Sedan in mid-May 1940 and subsequent dash to the coast near Abbeville had led to the Allied forces in the north being trapped with their backs to the sea. Despite a magnificent rearguard action by French troops endeavouring to protect them, defeat and retreat were inevitable. The subsequent evacuation codenamed “Operation Dynamo“ was turned into the “Miracle of Dunkerque”, the name given to the successful evacuation from 26 May–4 June of more than 338,000 troops from the beaches of Dunkerque and its resorts of Malo, Zuydcoote and Bray-Dunes, an operation carried out in the face of intense bombardment on land and from the air. A fleet of over 900 small vessels, dubbed the “Little Ships of Dunkerque“, helped to transport the troops safely back to the UK.
Le Portaa
Dunkerque is the third-largest port in France and the major French port of the North Sea with a total of over 57.7 million tonnes of traffic in 2008. The port handled 7 134 ships during the same year. A vast industrial zone has emerged, based on shipbuilding, steelworks, refineries and petrochemicals.
It is the first port in France for ore, coal copper and container fruit imports, and the second port in France for traffic with the UK. A vehicle ferry service operates between Dover and Dunkerque (Gravelines), providing an alternative to the traditional Dover–Calais route.
Belfry
>Mon–Sat except public holidays, 9.30–11.15am, 2–5pm. |P3 (children, 7–12, P2). t03 28 66 79 21.
Built in the 13C and heightened in 1440, this served as the bell tower to Église St-Éloi which burnt down in 1558.
This high tower contains a peal of 48 bells which play “Jean Bart’s tune” on the hours and other popular tunes on the quarter-hours. The tourist office is housed on the ground floor. A war memorial has been erected under the arch opposite Église St-Éloi.
/Musée Portuairea
j>Open Jul–Aug 10am–6pm. Rest of year Wed–Mon 10am–12.45pm, 1.30–6pm. |P10 (children, 7–12, P8). t03 28 63 33 39.
Laid out in a former tobacco warehouse dating from the 19C, this attractive museum gives an insight into the history and operating of the port of Dunkerque, Northern France’s huge maritime gateway, through dioramas, model ships, maps, paintings, engravings and the tools once used by dockers.
In the 17C, Dunkerque became the main privateering harbour, with Jean Bart to defend it. The Battle of Texel (a copy of a painting by Isabey kept in the Musée de la Marine in Paris), engravings, and models of privateers’ boats illustrate Bart’s exploits.
Musée des Beaux-Artsa (Fine Arts Museum)
>Open Wed–Mon 10am–noon, 2–6pm. |P4.50 (no charge 1st Sunday of the month). t03 28 59 21 65.
This museum (rebuilt in 1973) houses beautiful collections of 16–20C paintings and documents tracing Dunkerque’s history. One room is dedicated to the privateer Jean Bart. Note the strange 17C money box in the shape of a chained captive from the Église St-Eloi. The money placed in it was used to buy back slaves.
Lieu d’Art et Action Contemporaine (LAAC)a
>Open Tue–Sun 10am–noon, 2–5.30pm (Apr–Oct 6.30pm). |P4.50.
The museum is devoted to contemporary earthenware and glassware from 1950–80, including CoBrA, César, Soulages, Warhol and Télémaque.
Working with the theme “Dialogues in ceramics”, the museum aims to increase public awareness of this art form.
The Museum of Contemporary Art stands in the middle of a sculpture parka designed by Gilbert Samel.
The paths climb outcrops and run down slopes, leading past great stone pieces by the sculptor Dodeigne, metal structures by Féraud and compositions by Viseux, Arman and Zvenijorovsky, all against the backdrop of the North Sea.
Ñ This northern town is 49km/30mi SE of Calais. i4 r. du Liond‘Or. t03 21 98 08 51. www.tourisme-saintomer.com.
A market centre of some importance, St-Omer has kept many fine town houses dating from the Classical period.
The town lies at the junction of Inland Flanders, with its watery landscapes of poplars, elms and willows, and Coastal Flanders, won from the sea in medieval times and now dominated by industry and arable farming.
A border town, St-Omer was in turn part of the Holy Roman Empire, Flanders, Burgundy and then Spain, finally passing into French hands in 1677. The town’s industry, predominantly metal-working, chemicals and glass-making, is concentrated in the Arques district. 38km/23.6mi to the south lies the site of the Battle of Agincourt (Azincourt), where, on 25 October 1415, France suffered its worst defeat of the Hundred Years‘ War at the hands of Henry V of England.
Cathédrale Notre-Dameaa
>Open daily Nov–Mar 8am–5pm; Apr– Oct 8am–6pm. www.cathedrale-saint-omer.org.
Completed at the end of the Hundred Years‘ War, the building shows signs of the influence of the English Perpendicular style. There are numerous high-quality works of artaa, including 18C woodwork, and 13C floor tiles.
Hôtel Sandelin and museuma
j >Open Wed–Sun 10am–noon, 2–6pm. |P4.50. t03 21 38 00 94. www.musenor.com.
The house was built in 1777 for the Viscountess of Fruges. It is set between a courtyard and a garden, with a huge portal and an elegant Louis XV gate.
Ground Floor – The drawing rooms overlooking the gardens form a charming suite of rooms with finely carved wainscoting, 18C fireplaces and Louis XV furnishings.
The woodcarving room (religious sculptures and medieval tapestries) and the Salle Henri Dupuis, containing ebony cabinets made in Antwerp, lead to the Salle du Trésor where exhibits include the famous gilt and enamelled base of the St Bertin Crossa (12C), a masterpiece of Mosan art. The upper floors house a collection of local ceramics, and Delftware.
Jardin publica
A vast park is located on part of the old 17C ramparts, with gardens and views of the bastion, rooftops and the cathedral tower.
The road linking Calais and Boulogne takes the visitor along the most spectacular part of this coastline with its high chalk cliffs, heathlands and vast sandy beaches backed by dunes.
Blériot-Plage
Ñ 3km/1.8mi W of Calais.
The little resort has a fine beach stretching as far as Cap Blanc-Nez. On a cliff-top knoll is the obelisk commemorating the Dover Patrol, mounted continuously between 1914 and 1918 to protect the vital supply routes across the English Channel.
At Les Baraques just to the west of the resort is a monument marking Louis Blériot’s flight across the Channel in 1909.
Cap Blanc-Nezaa
Ñ 11km/6.8mi W of Calais, along D 940.
From the top of the white cliffs the viewa extends from Calais to Cap Gris-Nez and right across the Channel to the English coast.
Wissant
Ñ 19km/12mi W of Calais, along D 940.
With its superb beach of fine hard sand, one of France’s main centres for land yachting, Wissant enjoys its privileged position in the middle of the National Conservation Area which includes both Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez.
Cap Gris-Nezaa
Ñ 31km/19.2mi SW of Calais.
This lofty limestone headland makes a contrast with the chalk cliffs to the south. It gives a viewa of the white cliffs of the English coast.
Wimereux
Ñ 27km/16.7mi SW of Calais.
This sizeable family resort is pleasantly situated between Cap d’Alprech to the south and the cliffs running up to Cap Gris-Nez in the north.
From the raised seafront promenade there are fine views over the Channel and along the coast from the monument (Colonne de la Grande Armée) to Boulogne.
Boulogne-sur-Mera –
TSee BOULOGNE-SUR-MER.
Considered the most attractive and interesting of the “short crossing” Channel ports, Boulogne has a historic walled upper town built on the site of the Roman fortress with 13C ramparts, interesting shops and a traditional market in the lower town, and a busy quayside where fishermen’s wives sell their husbands’ fresh catch at traditional tiled stalls.
= Population: 44 519
T Michelin Map: 301 C 3
i Info: Parvis de Nausicaä. t03 21 10 88 10. www.tourisme-boulognesurmer.com.
Ñ Location: 34km/21mi SW of Calais.
õ Parking: There are car parks by the seafront – it’s much easier than trying to park in town.
w Don’t Miss: The quiet streets of Ville Haute within its ring of sturdy ramparts.
/ Kids: Nausicaä is a family destination and kids will love it.