Plage des Baraques

See more images

Extending from Calais LA Plage, the Plage des Baraques stretches for several kilometers between a line of imposing dunes and the English Channel. Steeped in history, lined with its famous chalets and marked by the memory of Louis Blériot's first cross-Channel flight, it offers a more intimate and heritage-focused atmosphere than its neighbors.

Discover more

Plage des Baraques
Avenue de la Plage - 62231 SANGATTE

See the itinerary

A reinvented beach, in the spirit of chalets.

Baraques Beach has long been known for its historic wooden chalets, small, traditional cabins huddled together along the sand. These have since given way to a new generation of more contemporary chalets, which retain the seaside resort atmosphere while offering a refreshed setting. At the heart of this development, the Aviateur beach bar has become the natural meeting place: a name that pays homage to Louis Blériot without being over the top, and a place where people gladly stop after a stroll along the promenade or a windsurfing session. Baraques Beach has thus rediscovered its seasonal vibrancy, offering relaxation, water sports, and a friendly atmosphere, without losing its neighborhood beach character.

The Aviator

A couple sitting at a table on the beach near the beach huts with their chalets in the background.

Louis Blériot's launch field

It was from this coastline that the history of aviation took a decisive turn. On July 25, 1909, at 4:35 a.m., Louis Blériot took off from a field located where the current school stands, aboard his Blériot XI, and reached Dover in 37 minutes. A pioneering feat, the first crossing of the English Channel by airplane. A memorial stone marks the takeoff point on Rue de l'Aviation (Aviation Street). Upon his death in 1936, the hamlet of Les Baraques was officially renamed Blériot-Plage. A statue of Hubert Latham, the aviator who attempted the crossing a few days earlier and landed in the Channel after engine failure, stands at the western end of the beach.

Louis Blériot Stele

Dunes, Fort Lapin and natural cord

Behind the beach, the Fort Mahon dune system stretches for 2,8 kilometers, a veritable natural rampart shaped by the winds and marram grass. Between the dunes, Fort Rabbit This reminds us that this coastline was once a defensive line. Further along, the Notre-Dame de la Salette church, with its architecture typical of the post-war Reconstruction period, marks the center of Blériot-Plage. Together, they form a coherent route between nature and history, which can be followed with the guides of Calais XXL each summer on a walking itinerary from Blériot-Plage to Sangatte.

Discover the Dunes of Fort Mahon