Le Channel

Calais


Calais' former slaughterhouses were transformed into this vast cultural centre in 2007. Today it hosts performances spanning live music concerts to comedy, theatre, puppetry and circus acts, and is home to two restaurants (a simple bistro and a restaurant serving more elaborate modern French cuisine), a bookshop and various workshops (anything from ice carving to dance).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Calais attractions

1. Musée Mémoire 1939–1945

0.6 MILES

Housed in a massive concrete bunker built as a German naval headquarters, this WWII museum displays thousands of period artefacts, including weapons,…

2. Burghers of Calais

0.74 MILES

In front of Calais' ornate Hôtel de Ville stands the first cast of Rodin's famous sculpture Les Bourgeois de Calais (The Burghers of Calais; 1889), which…

3. Hôtel de Ville

0.78 MILES

Inaugurated in 1925, Calais' Hôtel de Ville (city hall) melds Flemish and Renaissance styles, as does its 78m-high, Unesco-listed beffroi (belfry) topped…

5. Plage de Calais

1.34 MILES

Children can splash in the shallow, clear waters of Calais' cabin-lined city beach (patrolled by lifeguards in summer), while its fine sand is ideal for…

6. Blériot Plage

2.39 MILES

This broad, gently sloping sandy beach stretching for 8km is safe for swimming and gets packed in summer.

7. Cap Blanc-Nez

5.85 MILES

Southwest of Calais, just past Sangatte, the coastal dunes give way to cliffs that culminate in windswept, 134m-high Cap Blanc-Nez, which affords…

8. Brasserie Artisanale des 2 Caps

10.29 MILES

Historic farm buildings deep in the countryside house one of northern France's best artisan breweries, established in 2003. Sample and buy here, or look…