Calais Beach

Calais Beach is a broad sandy beach on the North Sea in Calais, Pas-de-Calais, running for more than a kilometre west of the port entrance along the Digue Gaston Berthe. It suits families, wind-sports fans and anyone who wants to watch ferries cross to England, which is about 34 km away across the Strait of Dover.

Bathing huts, rock pools and views of Dover

The sand slopes gently, and at low tide shallow pools form across it. Rows of bathing huts and white chalets line the promenade, a few hundred metres from the Place d'Armes. Ferries to England pass offshore, and on clear afternoons the White Cliffs of Dover come into view.

The seafront has free play areas with swings, wooden boats, basketball, beach volleyball, a skate park and table tennis, plus picnic areas. Sand yachting, windsurfing and kitesurfing are popular. A pedestrian promenade leads west to Blériot-Plage in Sangatte, about 3 km away, with dunes and chalets on the sand, and a cycle path continues toward Cap Blanc-Nez, 12 km away.

Fort Risban and the siege of 1346

Fort Risban guards the harbour mouth at the eastern end of the beach, at 21 rue de la Mer. It began as a wooden tower raised by the troops of Edward III during the English siege of Calais that started in 1346, was rebuilt in stone as the Lancaster Tower, returned to France in 1558 and was rebuilt again in 1640. In May 1940, during the German invasion, it served as a temporary French naval command post and as a shelter for civilians; German shelling caused a collapse that trapped people for several hours before the garrison was taken prisoner. After the war it was neglected and briefly used as a water-sports base, and the city partly restored it in 2005.

Climbing the 271 steps of the Calais lighthouse

Inland, the Calais lighthouse, designed by Léonce Reynaud and first lit on 15 October 1848, has 271 steps to its viewing gallery and is open to climb. Near the beach stands a monument to the submarine Pluviôse. The lighthouse is about 1.5 km from the sand, and Calais-Ville railway station about 2 km.