Calais

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Calais sees 30 million transients a year - most of them cross the English Channel either through the Eurotunnel that begins here, under the sea, or by sea on one of the ferries. Much of the freight traffic between France and the British Isles also passes through the city. The fact that people with peaceful or unpeaceful intentions cross the Channel at this point has marked Calais for centuries. However, the city should not be reduced to this role, it is also a destination for those interested in architecture or the textile industry.

If you're coming to Calais, it's best to climb the 271 steps to the top of the lighthouse, which dates back to 1848. From a height of 50 meters, you not only have a good view of the harbor and the city. On a clear day, you can also see the chalk cliffs of Dover across the 34-kilometer-wide English Channel. The location of Calais at the narrowest point of this strait has made the city the most important port for shipping traffic to England and given it a special role as a connection point between the mainland and the British Isles.

However, relations across the channel were not always of a peaceful nature, quite the contrary. At the end of the 12th century Calais became an important ferry port for trade between England and Flanders, but already in the early 13th century Dauphin Louis VIII made Calais the starting point of an albeit failed invasion of England. A little later, the first fortifications were built. The citadel in its present form dates back to the 16th century and is one of the sights.

The town hall and the six burghers

You should also see the bronze sculpture "The Burghers of Calais" by Auguste Rodin in the town hall square from 1895, which commemorates the six inhabitants who surrendered to English invaders in 1347 so that the siege of the city would end. They were not executed, but Calais belonged to England until the reconquest in 1558.

And if you are already in the town hall square to visit this monument, you can well combine this with a visit to the town hall with its 75 meters high bell tower. These towers in the style of Flemish Renaissance architecture are typical of northern France and Belgium and are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

More fortified is the largest and oldest church, Notre-Dame-de-Calais, dating from the 13th to 15th centuries. Its construction is also the result of Calais' exposed position also as an English bridgehead for two centuries. Miraculously, the church also survived a mistaken attack in February 1945, when English bombers were supposed to attack Dunkirk, but unloaded their deadly cargo over Calais.

Three exciting museums

Those interested in learning more visit the World War II Memorial Museum, housed in a former German navy blockhouse. Another museum worth seeing is the Museum of Fine Arts, with works from the 16th to the 21st centuries. The third museum that deserves attention is all about lace and fashion. There you learn that Calais has a tradition as a stronghold of machine lace making, with up to 300 manufactories in its absolute heyday. Today, there are still around ten factories.

What else should you see in Calais? In the old town, there is the Tour de Guet from the 13th century, once part of a fortress as a watchtower. At the harbor, on the other hand, you head for the Dragon of Calais, a 25-meter-long and 15-meter-long walk-in sculpture that also moves. The "Courgain" district with its many small fishermen's houses is worth a detour. And if you like hiking, the cliffs with the small coastal villages in the immediate vicinity are a good place to be.

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