Street art in Calais: 90 works to discover

Since 1975, the walls of Calais have been a canvas for artistic creation. What began as a collage by Ernest Pignon-Ernest has become, in fifty years, one of the densest street art routes Hauts-de-France: more than 90 monumental frescoes listed in 2026, an annual festival that attracts artists from all over the world, and a city that has made this art a territorial signature in its own right.

An open-air museum

Is Street Art part of contemporary art or is it a separate phenomenon? Difficult to classify since its origins, it has acquired a major place in the recent history of creation and definitively left its imprint on the Calais region. As early as 1975, Ernest Pignon-Ernest installed a collage in Calais inspired by Burghers of CalaisIn 1990, François Morellet unveiled his "Blériot's Lace Plane," made of white and blue-grey marble paving stones, in the Fort Nieulay district. Since then, the streets of Calais have continued to inspire artists from all over the world!

Access the full tour

Following the success of the “Urban Conquest” exhibition Museum of Fine Arts In 2019, this art form was expressed every summer in a unifying festival organized by Graffiti Workshopswhere around fifteen national and international artists are invited to share their style. In just a few years, the Calais region It is adorned with more than 90 monumental frescoesThe streets become the playground of urban artists who draw inspiration from the city's history, like the mural of Lace by Nespoon, the inhabitant of Minck by Swed Oner, or the Seagull by K.YoôIn 2025, the Hauts-de-France region achieved a triple win in the national Golden Street Art awards, proof that the North has become the beating heart of the discipline in France.

Nespoon Street Art Mural at the City of Lace.

Big international names

Banksy, smug, Nespoon, JDL (Judith de Leeuw) BKFoxx, Case Maclaim, Hopare et Curtis Hylton have all left their mark on the walls of Calais. The work of Banksy on the Gaston Berthe dike, the only surviving fresco from his Calais interventions, is now protected under plexiglass.

smug He also shared his photorealistic, orange-toned art with his 'just a man who drinks a whisky', Nespoon its lace patterns on the gable facing the City of Lace. JDL I came twice. BKFoxx Also: two artists faithful to the city as much as to their hyperrealistic style. Curtis Hylton delivered a brightly colored parrot seven stories ranked 4th at the Golden Street Art 2024.

JDL Street Art Mural in 2023 — JDL Street Art Mural created in 2023

Focus

The award-winning works of the Calais trail

Since 2021, Calais has featured every year in the national Golden Street Art rankings!

Aéro opens the series with two consecutive works in the top 10: a silver medal in 2021 for “Le Pêcheur pensif” rue des Communes, then “La Grande aigrette” in 2022. Sweo & Nikita take 5th place in 2023 with “Le Poisson combattant”, Curtis Hylton 4th in 2024 with “Le Perroquet”.

In 2025, Flow won the gold medal with “Samurai and Dragon,” voted the most beautiful mural in France by over 4,700 votes. On the international stage, BubbleGum received an award from the Street Art Cities platform, a global leader in cataloging urban artworks.

Street Art in Calais: a national award

Flow Graffiti's artwork: Samurai and dragon in Calais

French artists

Flow, Aero, Hopare, Theo haggai, Marco93, Kaldea, Stom500 et maye make up the recognized French component of a journey that continues to gain national recognition.

Flow picked up the Golden Street Art 2025 with “Samurai and Dragon”, completed in 60 hours on rue de Valenciennes. Aero, originally from Rennes, is the most awarded artist in the program: two works in the national top 10 since 2021. Théo Haggai covered 185 m² in the courtyard of the Cité de la Dentelle. Marko93, for his part, painted the trumpeter Derrick Shezbie on the façade of the Conservatoire. Kaldea placed his lioness of Fo at the entrance to the city facing the Channel. Stom500 and its stylized bees and hornbills occupy the Brampton wasteland. Finally, as a last example, maye and his human totem, expressing Fraternity, on one of the facades of Boulevard Jacquard.

Kaldea's street art work can be seen on Boulevard Salengro in Calais. — Kaldea's street art.

Local and regional artists

Vyrüs, Koga One, Kalouf, Swed Oner, K.Yoô, Sweo & Nikita et anna conda form the local foundation of a journey rooted in its territory. Vyrüs, a precursor of the Calais scene, has several works scattered throughout the city. Koga One painted his doubled faces on the gable end of the station. Kalouf Climate alert with its flame orangutan at Wilson residence. Swed Oner immortalizes its “remarkable anonymous” figures, haloed in gold. K.Yoô lands his seagull in the heart of the Courgain Maritime. Sweo & Nikita conceal their reference to street art in the octopus-like structure of Rue du Temple. anna conda represents music as a universal language, opposite the work of the Ukrainian artist Palval on the same building.

Calais Ville SNCF Train Station, the Imag'in Bus Station and the Street-At artwork by KogaOne

Kalouf's burning orangutan in Calais near Saint-Pierre Park.

An annual meeting

Launched in 2020, the Calais Street Art Festival has taken its place in the summer events. It is a first 100% local edition which was organized by the Calais graffiti artist Vyrüs and in the following years, national and international artists came to leave their signature in Calais.

Join our guided tours

Every summer, it's the artistic event not to be missed! Discover these works through the proposed tours while learning a little more about this discipline. Like a treasure hunt, you will be led to observe the frescoes which will provoke your reflection on the meaning of what they inspire in you.

Anna Conda represents music as a universal language

Our 2026 itinerary with over 90 listed works

Every year, the Calais XXL teams keep a close eye on things and enhance our Wivisites route with new street art available in the city! With or without the app, follow in the artists' footsteps independently and explore the city at your own pace.

Start the course

How many pieces of street art can be seen in Calais? + -

By 2026, the Calais street art trail will feature 93 listed works, spread throughout all the city's neighborhoods and also in the surrounding towns. All the works can be viewed and geolocated in our free Wivisites guide, available offline (after downloading the trail) so you can follow the route independently.

Is Calais a recognized destination for street art in France? + -

Yes, and the national rankings confirm it. Since 2021, Calais has consistently ranked in the top 10 of the Golden Street Art awards, the leading street art prize in France, organized by the website Trompe-l'œil.info. In 2021, Aéro won the silver medal. In 2025, Flow took home the gold medal with “Samurai and Dragon,” voted the most beautiful mural in France by over 4,700 votes. Five consecutive years in the national rankings, one gold medal: Calais has established itself as one of the most active French cities in this field.

The detailed list of winners

What is the role of street art in the Hauts-de-France region? + -

The Hauts-de-France region has become one of the most dynamic in France for street art. In 2025, the region achieved a clean sweep in the national Golden Street Art awards: Calais took gold, and Boulogne-sur-Mer came in third. Beyond these awards, the region boasts several annual festivals, a wealth of permanent art trails, and a long tradition of urban art dating back to the 1970s, with Ernest Pignon-Ernest starting in Calais in 1975.

How to visit street art in Calais? + -

The route can be explored on foot or by bike, at your own pace, using the tourist map available at the Calais XXL Tourist Office or via the free Wivisites app, which includes geolocation and information about each artwork. Every summer, Calais XXL's guides offer guided tours of the festival murals and the highlights of the permanent exhibition, including the Banksy protected under plexiglass on the seafront. The Imag'In transport network is completely free for reaching the more outlying artworks.

Can you see famous street art in Calais? + -

Banksy, Hopare, Case Maclaim, Nespoon, JDL, BKFoxx, Smug: several of the most renowned names on the international art scene have left their mark on the walls of Calais. Banksy's work, created in support of refugees in 2015 on the Gaston Berthe seawall, is now one of the most photographed in the city. It is the only one of his three Calais interventions to have survived.