Calais

For other places with the same name, see Calais (disambiguation). Calais is a city in the Nord-Pas de Calais region of France. It is the closest point on the French mainland to England; Dover lies across the English Channel (La Manche) just 32 km (20 miles) away. The town has a major cross-channel ferry port and the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel is nearby. Calais is popular with British day-trippers arriving by ferry or on Channel Tunnel shuttle trains one reason being due to the fact that France has lower taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Large warehouse supermarkets have sprung up on the outskirts of Calais just to serve these British "booze cruisers" who return to the UK with their suspensions groaning under the weight of cheap booze and cigarettes. While most tourists view the town as simply a port there is a little more to the town. Get in Ferry The strait of Dover is one of the most frequented shipping lanes in the world. Calais ferry port is situated to allow easy access to the town itself but also to shops outside the town many of which are designed to sell alcohol to visitors from the UK where higher taxation means alcohol of all kinds is normally priced higher. Free car parking facilities are available in front of the Calais ferry terminal and the maximum stay is of three days. The port is also directly linked to the French motorway system. The A26/E15, which provides access to the heart of France including Paris and beyond and the A16/E40, which is a gateway to Benelux and the northern European motorway systems. The A16/E402 directs you to western France. Ferry crossings from Dover to Calais take typically around one hour and fifteen minutes with it normally recommended that passengers arrive at least an hour prior to departure - however operators' advice may change. Two operators operate this route, P&O and Seafrance. P&O is an English operator while Seafrance is French owned. However, the port of Dover is not only connected to Calais. Another popular route is Dover to Dunkirk and this route is operated by Norfolkline ferries which has recently become part of DFDS Seaways. Ferries to Calais with AFerry.co.uk SeaFrance ferries P&O ferries Train Le Shuttle Running from Folkestone to the western edge of Calais the service takes about 35 minutes (although only about 20 minutes are in the tunnel) and offers the fastest way to go between the countries; this service is for passengers with cars only who remain with their car for the duration of the short trip, onboard there are no restaurants (although there are facilities – a fast food restaurant and various shops in the terminal buildings) but there are toilets. Eurostar Tour Bus, in a train car, in the Chunnel Running from London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet and Ashford, Eurostar offers Calais in 1 hour; there are around 3 trains a day in each direction. Note that the Calais Fréthun TGV stop is some distance from Calais itself; there are however shuttle buses and taxis. SNCF Running from Lille, Boulogne, Dunkirk and Paris, Calais is well supported by the French rail network. Motorail Cars can be taken to the South of France, destinations such as Narbonne, Marseille and Lyon can be reached by train (your car is carried with you). Get around Most people travel by car around the town, but there is a comprehensive network of buses running from the town centre to the suburbs and Cité Europe. The port is served by a special shuttle bus - although via a footbridge the centre and the harbour terminal are only 15 mins apart. Bus #5 is useful for reaching the large Auchan and Carrefour hypermarkets and the Cite Europe shopping mall and #6 goes to Calais Frethun Eurostar station. Services run every 30 minutes during the day and cost between 80c and €1 (board through the front door and pay the driver) and all terminate outside the Gare D'Ville. See Rodin’s Artwork outside the town hall The 2 parcs : Have a look around the Parc Saint-Pierre to see nice typical bow windows houses The town Hall : Get in, and upstairs through the majestous staircase leading to the first floor and the wedding room, the ballroom, and the "parlement" room. Self visit (signs to read) or guided tour by Opale Tour. End 2010 it will be possible to climb the Belfry with an elevator. Light Tower to visit and climb up to the light. Wonderful view. Little museum. Cité Internationale de la dentelles et de la mode : open in june 2009 . www.cite-dentelle.fr / 0321 00 42 30: old manufactury refurbished in a "living" museum. All about the story of the lace, and especially the mechanic lace made in Calais on leavers . You can see 2 machines working for real. Restaurant, bar and lace shop. Really worth to do. You need at least 2 hours to see the main expo. Modern Art museum : 25 rue Richelieu ... Permanent and temporary exhibitions. Sculpture, paintings. Great expo from George Rousse untill end of January. To be seen ! War museum : Parc Saint Pierre in front the Town Hall, located in a real bunker Theater : place Albert 1er : guided tours by Opale Tour Le Channel, Scène Nationale : Shows, Library, restaurant, .. in former slaughtery house. Really worth a visit for the archictecture / www.lechannel.org Notre-Dame Church : unfortunaltely in refurbishment. End in. From 1300's. Tudor Style. Courgain Maritime and fish market : former fishermen quarter out of the walls of the city. Rebuild after the war, but nice palce to buy fresh fish and have a drink. Guided Tour buy Opale Tour The beach and the Jetty to have a look on the ferries playing the route between France and Britain The White Cliffs of Dover – in the faint distance Citadelle and Fort Nieulay : 15-1700's fort . Guided Tours Do See above You can also do to the swimming pool (Piscine Ranson or ICEO complex), to the skating rink (Iceo) Char à voile, base des Hemmes de Marck Sailing school : Base de voile, Blériot-Plage (coast road to Sangatte) Cinemas : Alhambra (beside Town Hall, VOSTF films !) or Gaumont Multiplex (Cité Europe) Bowlings : Bowling de Calais , avecnue de St6exupéry or Bowling quai 121, (Cité Europe) Visit the Coast up to "Cap Blanc Nez" (White Nose Cap), Unesco Classified site - If you don't have a car, you can take the bus (double deck) at the theater or Railway station. it will cost you 1 € to go there along the see road. Really cool. Exhibitions La cours d'artistes : 294 grande rue du petit courghain, 62100 Calais 0660846363, [1] Mondiavision : galerie de photos , rue du Vauxhall, Calais Buy Cite Europe - Large shopping centre containing 147 shops, 20 restaurants, and a cinema. Located next to the Channel Tunnel terminal (Junction 41 or 42 on the A16). Note that the shops are closed on Sundays and none of them sells tobacco. Alcohol – since France has slightly lower taxes on alcohol than the UK various establishments have set up to cater for day trippers, although often it is a little cheaper to go to a local hypermarket (and you can pick up other stuff). The main hypermarkets are Auchan and Carrefour - the latter is located within the Cité Europe shopping centre and can both be reached on bus number 5. In the town centre, there is a smaller Carrefour located at the back of the Quatre Boulevards shopping centre (near the Opéra). Markets - Place Crevecœur on Thursdays and Saturdays - Place d'Armes on Saturdays Lace : 3 places worth a visit - Museum shop - Boutique Noyon : 85 rue de Vic - 62100 Calais Tel : 0321 46 78 04, www.noyonboutique.com / old factory turned into a designer shop - Les dessous de Calais : Boulevard Lafayette - 62100 Calais tel :0321 xxxxx : outlet design shop for lingery and clothes ... Great discounts ! Eat There is a fantastic crepe restaurant called La Chênaie in Rue Jean de Vienne. For a lot more infos, have a look on the Couchsurfing Wiki Page of Calais [2] . Drink A lot as you can imagine ... too close to UK ! ;-) Have a look on the Couchsurfing Wiki page of Calais [3] . Sleep If unfortunately, you don't find a couch, here are 2 cheap but serious adresses : Auberge de Jeunesse de Calais - Avenue du Maréchal DeLattre de Tassigny - 62100 Calais Tel :0321 34 70 20 / email : adjcalais@wanadoo.fr .... Youth hostel, but no age limit with private room. really close to the beach. Nice place Au mouton Blanc - 44 rue du Vauxhall - 62100 Calais - Tel :0321 34 71 52 / near the theater and 4B shopping center ... family owned ... Guide du routard recommended Get out To hitchhike to Belgium or the Netherlands, if you leave the terminal, you must walk 500m through a large car park, after which you will see roundabout and an on-ramp to the motorway. That is the place to hitch a ride: there is enough space even for a big lorry. For a more 'traditional' experience of France, Saint Omer is a mere 26 miles (43 kilometres) down the road from Calais. The Saturday morning market on its main square, the Place Foch, can be enjoyable. There are also good affordable restaurants and friendly bars, as well as interesting architecture. Worth a visit in the surroundings : Guines And its marshes, Forest and old tower Ardres Old city and its lakes Wissant and Le site des 2 Caps on the see side Le Platier d'Oye  : natural reserve in Oye Plage