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Day Trips To Calais, Visiting Calais

General tourist Information for Calais on this page, these links for hotels in Calais and restaurants in Calais. If you want to visit a local supermarket visit the shopping in France page.

Day Trips To Calais, Visiting Calais

Looking for ideas for a day trip to France? We focus on the tourist opportunities in and around the town of Calais on this page. Details for the wider area can be accessed from the La France page. More details can be obtained form the Calais Tourism website (contact details below).

Calais is on the doorstep of a breathtaking coastline with miles of huge empty beaches, the fine white sand interrupted only by the cliffs of Cap Blanc Nez and Cap Gris Nez. Or head inland and drive through a countryside of rolling hills, small river valleys and forests. High standard, modestly priced accommodation and restaurants to suit most pockets and tastes can be found throughout the area to offer a taste of the real France. Visit the official tourism website for a free tourist guide.

The oldest part of Calais (Calais Nord) is built on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbours. The modern town, St-Pierre, lies to the south and southeast. Calais has a long history and the Romans called the settlement Caletum. Because of its strategic importance Calais was subject to frequent changes in sovereignty. At the time that Calais passed under English control in 1347 most of the inhabitants spoke Dutch as their first language. In 1558 Calais was finally recaptured by the French.

Famous Calais landmarks worth a visit include:

City Hall - Hall with striking 75-metre-high belfry was listed as World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2005. - Hôtel de ville, Place du Soldat Inconnu, 62100 Calais.
Calais Theatre - The auditorium, which has excellent acoustics, is horseshoe-shaped and boasts more than 900 seats spread over four galleries. - Le Théâtre, Bd Pasteur,
62100 Calais.
The Church Of Notre Dame - Perhaps the only church in mainland Europe constructed in the Tudor style. - Eglise Notre-Dame, Rue de Croy, 62100 Calais.
The Lighthouse - Located in the Courgain Maritime district.
Fort Nieulay - One of the few remaining fortified sluices in France that were designed by Vauban. Currently under restoration. Fort Nieulay, Avenue Roger Salengro, 62100 Calais.
Fort Risban - 16th century fort built on the remains on the Lancaster Tower. - Fort Risban
Avenue Raymond Poincaré, 62100 Calais.
The Citadel - Citadelle, Avenue Pierre de Coubertin, 62100 Calais,
Tour du Guet - Built in the 13th century, this tower is the oldest monument in Calais, not open for internal viewing. - Tour du Guet, Place d’Armes, 62100 Calais.

Museums:

The International City of Lace and Fashion - Located in the Saint-Pierre district, the historic centre of the lace industry in Calais, the International City of Lace and Fashion is set in an authentic collective factory that is typical of the 1870s. - Cité Internationale de la Dentelle et de la Mode, Quai de la Gendarmerie, 62100 Calais, www.citedentelle.fr
Museum Of Fine Arts - A new museum of fine arts and lace was inaugurated in 1968. It collects documents concerning local history and holds an extensive collection of watercolours - Musée Of Fine Arts, Rue Richelieu, 62100 Calais, www.calais.fr.
Museum Of Memory 39-45 - The Museum of memory 39-45 (Musée de Mémoire 39-45), located in the heart of the city in an authentic blockhouse of the Kriegsmarine (German War Navy), will let you relive the dire fate of the inhabitants of Calais during the Second World War by means of numerous photographs, press cuttings and objects from everyday life. Museum of memory 39-45 (musée de Mémoire 39-45), Parc St-Pierre, 62100 Calais www.museeguerrecalais.free.fr.

Other nearby highlights:

Beach In Wissant - On the seaward side the village of Wissant has a huge beach, ideal for wind and water sports. Audreselles is famous for its unusual fishing boats which when not in use, are parked, car fashion, outside their owners houses. Another fishing village, Ambleteuse boasts a fine fort built by the famous French military engineer, Vauban.
Cloth of Gold - Guines - Inland a network of small roads lead to villages such as Guines, near the field of the Cloth of Gold, the famous meeting place in 1520 for Henry VIII and Francis I of France, while the pretty town of Ardres has for decades been a popular en route stopover for British holidaymakers.
Giant World War II bunker - Licques - Nearby is Licques, a charming village with a superb Gothic church, famous for its production of fine turkey, highlighted in December in an annual turkey parade. Eperlecques is notable for a giant World War II bunker, where V2 rockets were built and launched.

The Calais tourist office is at:

Address: Office de Tourisme Calais/Côte d'Opale, 12, bd Clémenceau, 62100 Calais
Telephone: +03 21 96 62 40
Website: www.calais-cotedopale.com