If your vision of Calais is that of a convenient pit stop or dusty industrial town, filled with British tourists, it’s time to think again. A coastal location with Gallic charm, this northern town is a worthwhile destination in itself, even for frequenters of France.

If you arrive by train and follow the main road south from Calais Ville train station, you will find an impressive town hall, set off by Rodin’s Burghers of Calais, alongside well-laid out parks and museums. Further along, as Rue Royale becomes Rue Jacquard, the familiar France of wide boulevards and pretty architecture emerges. While the stretch north of the train station towards the coast is scruffier, it nonetheless offers a plethora of inviting cafes where you can enjoy coffee or wine and dine on traditional dishes like moules marinieres or poulet roti as well as indulge in some delightful North African cuisine.

Whatever reservations remain will evaporate when you stroll onto la plage, Calais’ fine stretch of sandy beach. From the beach Calais takes on a very different light; vast stretches of warm and sumptuous sand, lashed by the refreshing waters of ‘La Manche’ and an inviting breeze. In the morning, the beach is virtually empty with just enough people to offer colour and a sense of safety. Gaze across the Channel and absorb a calm blue sea meeting a hazy blue sky, punctuated only by the white of passing boats, creating the light and shades that might have inspired France’s great impressionists.
In the afternoon, Calais’ beach becomes well populated, but retains a homely, French appeal and offers enough beach for everyone to carve their own private universe, even in August.

Calais also offers unexpected surprises. Follow the coast west until you meet the gentle sand dunes leading to the rotunda and trace the road beyond, which drops you into the charms of Bleriot-Plage, a small quarter located just to the west of Calais. While a beach could be anywhere, Bleriot-Plage will make your experience distinctly French. Nestle down with a book and shot of coffee in the local tabac, that quintessentially French institution which combines a newsagents and café, observe the local tribe that assembles and let yourself feel the warm sensation of knowing you are undeniably in France. This is the easy living, convivial French lifestyle of which its citizens are so proud and which makes Francophiles of so many others.

The locals are delightful. They like to exchange pleasantries, wish you well for the day or share the pleasures of the beach. Others seek more detailed discussions about what brings you to Calais or the differences between our two countries – always employing that easy conversational style and flirtatiousness, which flows so readily from the French.

Calais may not have the glamour of Paris or la Cote d’Azur, but neither is it simply an entry point. Certainly it’s practical, reachable in one hour by Eurostar or by a one hour high speed rail ride from London to Dover where you can hop on a ferry, making it as accessible as a short break in the UK. It is also a good base to explore the wider Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, such as Boulogne or fashionable Le Touquet and the charming towns en route, either by bike, train or car – and less than two hours from Paris on the TGV.

Yet Calais is more than merely convenient. This blue collar town offers small town intimacy, an impressive sandy beach and a slice of authentic France that makes it worth a visit, not only as a staging post but also as a destination in itself.