Guide to Calais – best things to see, do and eat!

Meet a dragon on the beach and indulge in the lip-smacking cuisine of Calais, the port city at the tip of northern France. Our guide to Calais shares the best things to see, do and eat!

Calais is the perfect destination for a weekend, day trip or city break. There’s plenty to do and see from museums to memorial sites. The city beach, Calais la Plage (Calais by the sea) has had a massive makeover and is now one of the finest seaside destinations on the already gorgeous Opal Coast of northern France. The food is fabulous – from refined dining restaurants to seafood sensations, cosy little cafés and delicious bistros. And. There be dragons here. The colossal passenger-carrying Calais dragon is a jaw-dropping sight, creating one of the strangest and most captivating free street art performances in Europe…

The Calais Dragon

Barely a stone’s throw from Auguste Rodin’s monumental sculpture – the Burghers of Calais, depicting the surrendering of the keys of the besieged city of Calais to the English King Edward III in 1347, which resides outside the city’s town hall with its UNESCO-listed 75m belfry – lives a dragon. His glass fronted lair looks over the English Channel towards the White Cliffs of Dover, which are visible from this stretch of the coast on a clear day. And daily he roams the seafront.

The dragon is a mesmerising sight. At a whopping 82 feet long and 40 feet high, you certainly can’t miss him. He breathes fire. He spits dragon snot, sneezes, snorts and swings his tail. He bats his eye lids and roars. He flaps his 57 feet long wings. And he carries up to 50 passengers on a magical journey, guided by ‘machinists.’ Designed by François Delarozière, the genius behind the Machines de l’ile de Nantes, the Dragon of Calais is the most imposing of the company’s famous mechanical menagerie to date. Unforgettably, incredibly weird and wonderful.

And he’s not alone. A 13 feet long iguana lives close by. And there are plans for these two mechanical marvels to be joined by a gang of lizards who will carry passengers to and from iconic sites in this surprising city – quite possibly the weirdest public transport system in the world and definitely one of the most street art rich cities in Europe!

Book online for your ride on the dragon at: compagniedudragon.com/en

Indulge …

Ogling and riding dragons is hungry work. Luckily Calais is brimming with tempting bistros, boulangeries and patisseries.

There’s one cake you must try when you go to Calais – Le Calais! Almost every cake shop sells them, a meringue, almond and coffee buttercream concoction and in Les Attaques, a village on the outskirts of Calais you’ll find Boulangerie Dejonghe Pére et fils, two-time winners of the best Le Calais cake contest! Another speciality is the rond de St Nicolas – though you’ll only see that in shops in November and December as it’s a traditional Christmas biscuit with a white icing top decorated with a pink N.

Fancy something a bit more robust? It would be churlish of cheese lovers not to indulge in a local speciality – Le Welsh. And if you’re thinking that doesn’t sound very French – you’re right! It’s said to have been created in 1544 by a Welsh garrison of King Henry VIII’s army. Besieging the city of Boulogne, they were installed on Mont Lambert overlooking the town and after three months of resistance, their supplies ran low. Down to some wedges of Somerset cow’s cheese, they came up with the idea to melt the cheese, mix it with beer and pour it over stale bread. To this day it’s a favourite dish in the north of France!

You could also pop to the Dragon’s restaurant next to his lair. Enjoy breakfast, lunch and aperitifs (including cocktails such as the Dragon des Mers which packs a Tequila Punch, and Dragon des Airs, a fruity alcohol free delight), at L’Antre du Dragon, restaurant, café, bar. It’s also the perfect place for Sunday brunch.

And for those who want a taste of exquisite French cuisine – you’ll find a huge choice of quality restaurants and gourmet food shops. Over the last decade, more and more chefs have been finding renewed passion and energy for local produce, and the rejuvenation of the town has seen a plethora of new restaurants open.

For a gastronomic meal, head to Restaurant Le Channel (restaurant-le-chanel.com) at 3 Boulevard de la Résistance, This part of Calais has a bit of a fishing village vibe with small boats bobbing in the old harbour, but you can still see the huge ferries float majestically by, shuttling millions of passengers each year between Calais and Dover. Run by the Crespo family, Le Channel has been a favourite with locals and savvy Brits for some 40 years, in fact I know regular visitors who time their trips to stop for lunch or dinner there. The oysters and locally caught fresh fish dishes are legendary, whilst gastronomes swoon over the sweet cart, everything made by the onsite patisserie chef, and the cheese cloche has been known to make some sigh out loud with happiness.

5 great restaurants in Calais

I know, I know – a lot of choice but all of these restaurants offer utterly mouth-watering dishes, and everyone one of them has a less then €30 menu of 2 dishes or more.

At Le Grand Bleu (legrandbleu-calais.com) chef Matthieu Colin has been making waves with his inventive fresh-off-the-boat fish dishes and a meaty festival of flavours. Everything served is entirely home-made from bread to ice cream.

For something with a traditional French feel L’Histoire Ancienne (histoire-ancienne.com) in Rue Royale (one of the best shopping streets in town for foodies) is scrumptious. Chef Patrick Comtale’s menu packs a lip-smacking punch – with dishes like farmer’s pork marinated Picon beer with devil’s sauce!

Aquar’Aile, (aquaraile.fr) this restaurant has fabulous, panoramic views over the Channel and classic French dishes including superb oysters, and a daily vegetarian dish.

Au Côte d’Argent, (cotedargent.com) 1 Digue Gaston Berthe, is close to the dragon’s lair. With its light airy seaside vibe and gasp-worthy presentation (seafood lovers will definitely want the assiette de fruits de mer) and a great range of vegetarian dishes.

Le Channel – Les Grandes Tables restaurant (lechannel.fr) is within the Calais theatre complex. Using local, organic and seasonal products, the décor has a post-industrial vibe. There’s also a bistro with features designed by none other than the Calais dragon’s creator François Delarozière!

This historic city really is full of surprises – and it’s utterly delicious!

Discover heaps more to see and do in Calais and the Opal Coast: calais-cotedopale.co.uk

Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com