Hotels in Calais

Calais is France's front door for anyone crossing from England: the busiest passenger port on the Channel, with the Eurotunnel terminal at nearby Coquelles and the white cliffs of Dover visible across the water on a clear day. Most visitors treat it as a place to pass through, and the town has long lived with that reputation, along with the wine-and-beer warehouses that once drew British day-trippers. Be honest: heavy wartime bombing left much of the centre rebuilt in plain postwar style, and the port areas feel functional rather than charming.

There is more here than the ferry queue suggests, though. Rodin's bronze The Burghers of Calais stands outside the striking Flemish-style town hall and its belfry, the lace museum tells the story of the town's industrial past, and a long sandy beach runs west towards the dramatic headlands of Cap Blanc-Nez. Stay near the town hall and the Saint-Pierre area for restaurants and an easy run to the port, or close to the beach if you want an evening by the sea before an early crossing.