L’hôtel de Ville et le Beffroi de Calais

In local history, it is the symbol of the merger between Calais and Saint-Pierre in 1885. The climb to the belfry is worth doing to have a panoramic view of the city. 

The construction of the Calais Town Hall was decided following the merger of the municipalities of Calais and Saint-Pierre. Work began in 1911 under the direction of the Dunkirk architect Louis Debrouwer. He was a pioneer, using reinforced concrete for reinforcement, with red bricks as facing. Work was suspended during the Great War. Work on the Calais Town Hall was completed in 1923 for an official inauguration in 1925. The style was regionalist with a mixture of Flemish and Renaissance architecture.

Inside, Art Deco is present in the form of ironwork (doors, chandeliers) and the reception area illuminated by a glass roof. Access to the upper floor is via a grand staircase in Carrara marble. There are stained glass windows illustrating the recapture of Calais from the English in 1558. 

Upstairs, several rooms are worth a look: the wedding room where the civil union between Charles de Gaulle and Yvonne Vendroux took place in April 1921, and also the grand reception room, the municipal council room and the ceremonial office.

The belfry is a 75-meter square tower, made of white stone and red bricks. A patrol path gives a view of the horizon at the four cardinal points of the city. Four golden knights fix each of these points, surmounted by a clock. At the top, a weather vane represents a Dragon.

How tours of the belfry and town hall operate during low tourist periods.

(From November 5, 2024 to April 5, 2025)

• Opening and hours :

From November 5, 2024 and until April 5, 2025 outside of school periods in zone B, visits to the belfry and the town hall are open to the individual public without reservation on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 14 p.m. to 17:30 p.m. 

During school holidays in zone B, the belfry will be open every day except Monday at these same times.

The belfry and town hall tours will be accessible to individual visitors on other days (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) by reservation only. There will be 2 tour slots offered in the morning (10am – 11am) and 2 slots in the afternoon (14pm – 15:30pm with the possibility of combined town hall/belfry tours lasting 1h30 in the afternoon). 

For groups, they book in advance directly with the belfry or with the intercommunal tourist office which will inform us of the reservations to be recorded on the days of the week (from Tuesday to Sunday)

The weekly closing day of the belfry is Monday.

• For individual visitors arriving on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, there are three possibilities to make a reservation:

To reserve a visit, you must make a reservation using one of the means of communication above.