Back to towns in France
Calais
Calais is less than 40km from England - the Channel's shortest crossing - and is by far the busiest French passenger port. The port (and its accompanying petrochemical works) dominates the town; in fact, there's not much else here. In the last war the British destroyed it to prevent it being used as a base for a German invasion, but the French still refer to it as "the most English town in France", an influence that began after the battle of Crécy in 1346, when Edward III seized it for use as a beachhead in the Hundred Years War. It remained in English hands until 1558, when its loss caused Mary Tudor famously to say: "When I am dead and opened, you shall find Calais lying in my heart." The association has been maintained by various Brits across the centuries: Lady Emma Hamilton, Lord Nelson's mistress; Oscar Wilde on his uppers; Nottingham lacemakers who set up business in the early nineteenth century; and, nowadays, nine million British travellers per year, plus another million-odd day-trippers.
Calais divides in two: Calais-Nord , the old town rebuilt after the war, with the drab place d'Armes and rue Royale as its focus, is separated by canals from sprawling Calais-Sud , centred around the Hôtel de Ville and the main shopping streets, boulevards Lafayette and Jacquard - the latter named after the inventor of looms, who mechanized Calais' lacemaking industry.
Although Calais-Nord is nominally the old town, its charms soon wear thin. The medieval Tour du Guet , on place d'Armes, is the only building in the quarter to have survived wartime bombardment. From the Tour, rue de la Paix leads to the church of Notre-Dame , where Charles de Gaulle married local girl Yvonne Vendroux in 1921. Rather spuriously dubbed the only English Perpendicular church on the continent, it's not a particularly good example of the style, especially in its present state of dereliction. Frill-fanciers can enjoy the unusual lacemaking exhibition, along with a small collection of nineteenth-century sculptures, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle on rue Richelieu (Mon & Wed-Fri 10am-noon & 2-5.30pm, Sat 10am-noon & 2-6.30pm, Sun 2-6.30pm; 15F/?2.29), which runs alongside the Parc Richelieu, at the other end of rue Royale from the place d'Armes.
Calais-Sud is scarcely more exciting. Just over the canal bridge, the town's landmark, the Hôtel de Ville , raises its belfry over 60m into the sky; this Flemish extravaganza was finished in 1926, and miraculously survived World War II. Somewhat dwarfed by the building, Rodin's famous bronze, the Burghers of Calais , records for ever the self-sacrifice of local dignitaries, who offered their lives to assuage the blood lust of the victor at Crécy, Edward III - only to be spared at the last minute by the intervention of Queen Philippa, Edward's wife. For a record of Calais' wartime travails you can consult the fascinating Musée de la Guerre (April-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Oct-Nov & Feb-March daily except Tues 11am-5pm; 15F/?2.29), installed in a former German Blockhaus in the Parc St-Pierre across the street, with exhibits of uniforms, weapons and models from World War II and a small section devoted to World War I.
Don't bother walking into town from the ferry terminal (Calais-Maritime train station): there's a free daytime bus service to place d'Armes and the central Calais-Ville train station in Calais-Sud. Buses for the outlying hypermarkets and the gare TGV (Calais-Fréthun) leave from in front of Calais-Ville train station. If you're intent on hitching to Paris, take a left out of the ferry terminal - the new autoroute bypass begins almost immediately, leading to both the A26 and the original N1. If you plan to rent a car we are there!
|
