Calais Audio guided walking tour 2h15 and 24 audio comments

Located in the heart of the old town, Notre-Dame de Calais Church is one of the city’s great historical symbols. Its construction began in 1223 and continued with numerous expansions until the 16th century, a time when Calais remained under English rule for more than two centuries.

In the early 1880s, sculptor Auguste Rodin had already suffered several failures in competitions for public monuments. To gain notoriety and ensure its financial stability, it then multiplied the official commissions, and the one you had in front of you was timely in 1884.

Positioned at the tip of the tongue of land enclosing the outport, Fort Risban reminds us how Calais, open to the Channel Strait, was very early coveted land.

A string of houses along a dock and a small basin that is much less attractive at low tide, indeed, the best image to remember from Calais may not be found here.

Strongly connected to the north of France, the belfry bear witness to the past power of cities, while bringing volume and height to their landscapes lacking relief.

Addition of shops and restaurants, favorite seat of the Calais demonstrations, main meeting point of the inhabitants, the Place d’Armes enlivens Calais as much as it makes it live.

Yes, it’s just that, in terms of setting, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Calais certainly did not inherit the most elegant.

Calais, England’s neighbourhood, cannot get rid of it. On its waterfront, the British coastline appears on a clear day.

Green plots, many species of trees, a large waterfall basin, the more you progress through the paths of Richelieu Park and the more you would see yourself taking a break.

Calais for you, what does it mean? A city facing the sea with its ferries, its commercial port and its fishermen-sailors of today and in the past.

If their architect created them glued and so well matched, the belfry has something extra that City Inn cannot boast of: a UNESCO World Heritage Ranking.

A coastal town, of course Calais is one. But so is a green city. Of the 3,350 hectares that make up it, nearly 350 are wooded areas, family gardens, green spaces, etc.

A strategic point of prime importance for the British and Germans, Calais suffered enormously from the conflictual context of the last century, particularly at the time of the Second World War.

An emblem of French know-how, Calais lace is an essential chapter in the history of the destination. A superb museum is dedicated to him, a little further on, on the Quai du Commerce.

In creation, you thought that Calais did exclusively in lace? Well no, the city has several strings to its bow! If you look to your left, you will have concrete proof of this.

Following the reconquest of Calais in 1558, the kings of France had only one idea in mind, strengthened the protection of the city so that it remained definitively French.

Severely destroyed during the vagaries of the two World Wars, Calais still counts a proud symbol of its medieval era to its heritage.

Mixed with the rest of the crowd, this work is the first sculptural representation of a presidential couple in France.

From the Henri Hénon bridge, there is no shortage of testimonies of the Calais heritage in all its forms.

You struggle to visualize what this dark mass represents and the corrosion marks do not make your task easier?

Believe us, the panorama of the Calais seafront would not be the same without the hundred beach chalets planted facing the English Channel.

Past the usual panorama of the seafront of Calais, where fine sand and beach chalets take the pose, our eyes inevitably freeze on this huge glass shelter that normally reveals a strange mass.

In its very clean appearance, this white stone column located in the Courgain Maritime district recalls an anecdotal event in Calais.

A port frequented for centuries, Calais has always been on maritime signalling documents.