©Nohcab Visiting Calais: the must-sees
Visiting Calais means finding yourself at the crossroads of two countries, two seas, and ten centuries of history. Just a few kilometers from England, whose cliffs are visible on a clear day, the Calais XXL area encompasses a revitalized seafront, a UNESCO-listed belfry, a ten-meter-high mechanical creature, nationally renowned museums, and sixty-six street art murals. Whether you're coming for a weekend or a whole week, here are ten must-see attractions during your visit to Calais.
Calais THE Beach
Calais LA Plage stretches over a kilometer of fine sand, entirely redesigned for soft mobility: pedestrians, bicycles, strollers and people with reduced mobility (Tourism and Handicap) coexist there naturally. The seafront offers a setting unique in France: on one side, the ferries that connect to Dover glide by just a few cables' lengths away; on the other, the silhouette of the Calais Dragon paces the dike between puffs of smoke.
In summer, the beach benefits from lifeguard supervision, large playgrounds for younger children, a multi-sports pitch, and beach volleyball courts. The artisanal ice cream from Diego and Sigler trucks, staples of Calais summers for generations, completes the picture. Access by public transport is free (lines 3 and 5), and parking remains completely free within a ten-minute walk radius.
Calais THE Beach
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©Fred Collier The Dragon Company
Designed by François Delaroziere and sculpted in steel and wood, the Calais Dragon It measures ten meters high and twenty-five meters long. Every movement—the flapping of its wings, the puffs of steam, the slow closing of its eyes—is controlled in real time by the team from Compagnie du Dragon, heir to a Calais tradition. urban theatre dating back more than thirty yearsOn board, the 45-minute guided tour offers a unique perspective on the port and the Strait: a mobile observation deck that tells the story of the territory in a different way.
In 2026, the Traveling Monitor joins the bestiary and explores the city's districts in a new street tour. Rediscover the neighborhoods one after another aboard this fascinatingly realistic creature!
Discover the Dragon Company
©Kleec Photography Belfry and heritage
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Belfry of the Town Hall It rises to a height of 75 meters above Calais. The interior staircase is itself an architectural experience! Its vertiginous vanishing point and the gradual discovery of the clock face from within make it one of the most beautiful heritage trails in northern France.
At the summit, the view encompasses the sea and the port on one side, and the Saint-Pierre district on the other. her lacemaking historyOn the way back down, the wedding hall bears the A memory of Charles de Gaulle who married here in 1921. Outside, Rodin's Burghers of Calais together with the neo-Flemish facade, they form one of the strongest photographic compositions in the territory.
Visit the Town Hall
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©Nohcab The Museum of Fine Arts and the Burghers of Calais
The six bronze silhouettes await you in the town hall gardens. Get ready for a photo: neo-Flemish belfry in the background, Rodin in the foreground – it's the quintessential Calais selfie, and for good reason.
It was impossible to leave the neighborhood of l’hôtel de ville without pushing open the door of Museum of Fine ArtsIts new rooms dedicated to Rodin, opening in 2025, trace the entire genesis of the Monument to the Burghers of Calais Models, studies, correspondence… a striking encounter with one of the masterpieces of French sculpture.
Visit the Museum of Fine Arts
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©Charles Delcourt The City of Lace and Fashion
Immerse yourself in the industrial adventure of Calais Lace, listen to the unique sound of the machines and admire the haute couture collections that dress so many personalities! Share a unique experience in this building where people are at the heart of industrial activity.
A Tulle maker will pass on his know-how to you thanks to real-time demonstrations on these machines, real pieces of goldsmithery. The mix of modern and industrial architecture offers you a panorama of colors and authenticity. Long prosperous, the lace factories shaped the architecture of the city and made it the pride of its inhabitants.
Visit the City of Lace and Fashion
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©Amandine Richard Maurizio Galante & Tal Lancman: Haute Couture, Design, Art
Each year, a major temporary exhibition brings the exquisite craftsmanship of lace into dialogue with the daring of renowned designers such as Iris van Herpen, Jean Paul Gaultier, and most recently, Yves Saint Laurent, whose unique pieces were on display. These exhibitions go beyond simply showcasing collections; they invite you to explore the evolution of lace and its influence on contemporary fashion. Starting in June 2026, the exhibition will feature Maurizio Galante & Tal Lancman: a duo of independent designers who will be exhibiting for the first time at the Cité de la Dentelle (Lace Museum) and also at the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) in Calais.
Discover the exhibition
Street art: Calais, an open-air museum
Since 2020, the Calais Street Art Festival has transformed the city into a cohesive collection of open-air urban art. More than 60 works by international artists—Jo Di Bona, Curtis Hylton, Kalouf, Anna Conda, and many others—coexist with the Art Deco architectural heritage of the post-war reconstruction. This dialogue between the post-war facades and contemporary murals is what distinguishes Calais from typical street art circuits: here, the city's history is the backdrop against which the artists work. Banksy's work, which appeared in 2015 on the seawall's lifeguard station, has become a landmark along this route.
Discover Street Art in Calais
©Fred Collier The Calais Lighthouse and the Courgain Maritime
In the heart of the city's oldest maritime district, the Calais Lighthouse From the top of its 271 steps, it reveals a 360° view of the sea, the port, the rooftops, and the cliffs. An educational room recounts the history of maritime signaling on the Strait, one of the busiest nautical passages in the world. At its base, the Courgain maritime tells another story: it was here, in the 12th century, that the first fishing hamlet was located. A witness to the evolution of the area: Fort Risban watches over the entrance to the port with its restored powder magazine and the Major's Lodge, which now houses an exhibition space. The quays opposite are now bustling with the morning fish market and the passage of the Varan de Voyage, an unusual creature brought to life by the machinists of the Dragon Company.
Calais and its port, a maritime identity to discover
©Stephane Ribeiro Da Ascencao Cape Blanc Nez
Cap Blanc-Nez is one of the few places in France where geography becomes immediately legibleWith a single glance from the cliff, you understand why the Strait of Dover has shaped the history of Europe: the white cliffs of Dover opposite, the ceaseless maritime traffic below, and beneath your feet. the chalk that plunges into a sea with two names: English Channel on one side, North Sea on the other.
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©Nohcab Classified as a Grand Site de France, the site can be explored on foot via gentle paths that lead down to Escalles beach, where Louis Blériot took off in July 1909 for the first aerial crossing of the English Channel. A place best visited slowly, binoculars in hand.
Down below, on Escalles beach, you feel tiny at the foot of this immense white chalk cliff, a stark contrast to the surrounding flora. However… while enjoying this fine sandy beach, be careful not to get caught out by the rising tide.
The Opal Coast
Between the cliffs of Cap Blanc Nez and the Platier d'Oye nature reserve, we are lucky to have very large beaches of fine sand. No matter what your tastes are in terms of beaches, there is something for everyone. Sports enthusiasts can go sailing, sand yachting, longe côte, volleyball and kite surfing.
Hikers, you can admire the dunes, the long stretches, the local flora on the GR 120 trail but also follow in the footsteps of Louis Blériot who took off there to reach England. Or quite simply, for lovers of idleness, you can walk on the sea wall and contemplate the departure of the ferries for Dover and their twin cliffs, the White Cliffs.
Explore the coastal beaches
©Nohcab ©Fred Collier XXL Shopping Getaway
Shopping fans…the Calais conurbation is made for you, because we can say that it is the main commercial center of the Opal Coast. City center (there are some real gems to discover!), then shopping areas to the west of the city, then finally the commercial behemoths that are Cité Europe and Channel Outlet: your shopping trip will go from strength to strength!
To tell you more about the 2 locomotives, Cité Europe is a complex of 120 shops on 2 levels with hypermarket, cinema, bowling and catering. Just opposite, Channel Outlet Store and its forty major fashion brands at Outlet prices.
Our shopping tips
©Channel Outlet Bonus: Local Flavors
In Calais, the sea is on the plate. The fishing port, a stone's throw from the city centre, supplies local restaurants with fresh fish daily. Welsh rarebit, a bread-based dish, Melted cheddar and ham is a gastronomic institution here, inherited from historical exchanges with England.
Pavé de Calais, a soft cheese with flavors from the Opal Coast, is also worth a visit to the cheese shops in the market. From Bistrot du Channel, housed in the former slaughterhouses reinvented as a national theater, to the Ferme Urbaine de Calais and its restaurant Au Coin de la Ferme, the city offers a range of dining options accessible to all and for all tastes!
Where to eat?
©Nohcab Our guided tour of the city
- All the must-sees in a 3-hour tour.
- Let yourself be guided by the geolocated points
- Visit cultural sites and enjoy the audio guides so you don't miss a thing.
What to do in Calais? + -
One or two days are enough to grasp the essentials. In the morning, start by the beach and the seawall for the sea air and wide open spaces. Then head to the Place d'Armes, then the Belfry of the Town Hall For the historic heart of the city. In the afternoon, the Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode (Lace and Fashion Museum) and Rodin's Burghers of Calais easily fill two hours. Allow about ten kilometers on foot; everything lends itself to walking. For the second day, don't leave without taking a trip aboard the Dragon of Calais or the Varan de Voyage (Travel Varan) of the Compagnie du Dragon. Afterwards, stroll through the Courgain Maritime district or the panoramic spaces of Fort Risban, which offer ideal lighting on the port.
All means of accessIs Calais worth a visit? + -
Yes, and often more than expected. The city surprises with the sheer scale of its spaces: beachThe skies, the sea… And the richness of its heritage: a belfry listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a work by Rodin unique in the world, a lace museum of international standard. Not forgetting the Dragon of CalaisA monumental machine, unique in Europe. Calais is a destination that embraces its grandeur.
Getting around and parking in Calais and the surrounding areaWhen is the best time to visit Calais? + -
Calais can be visited year-round. Summer is for the beach and outdoor events. Spring and autumn are for the spectacular high tides at Cap Blanc-Nez and walks along the coast without the crowds. Winter is for the Christmas market, one of the most popular in northern France.
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