Two days in Calais

My boyfriend and l are getting the ferry to Calais on the Thursday 23rd [August] and coming back on the Saturday lunchtime. The main reason is literally just to chill out and eat some nice cheese and drink some nice wine.

We are going to sling a tent in the car and see where the road takes it. The question is, is there anything to see and do in Calais? And where is best to eat cheese and drink wine? Which of the hypermarkets are best value?

Also we weren%26#39;t planning on booking any campsites - will we be able to stumble across some ok?

Any suggestions/tips would be very helpful!

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Here are three hypermarkets we%26#39;ve used in the past:

http://www.auchancalais.com/

http://www.auchanboulogne.com/situation.php

http://www.e-leclerc.com/outreau/votre+magasin/infos+pratiques/default.asp

(follow signs off motorway south of Boulogne to Outreau)

If you don%26#39;t want to buy your cheese in any of the above then I would recommend you try this shop in Calais:

restaurant-lechannel.com/modulosite2/…

Sorry, can%26#39;t help you on campsites.

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We do most of our wine shopping in Carrefour in Cite Europe.

…citeeurope.com/vue/…accueil.htm

This is shoppers paradise.

Camping de la Bien Assise in Guines is a Castels Campsite (Castels are very well run sites) and isn%26#39;t that far from Calais

www.bienassise.com/modulosite2/hotel-gb.htm

Another Castel%26#39;s site is Camping Chateau de Drancourt, but it is about 90 minutes from Calais and may be further than you wish. It is a nice site but not very lively

www.chateau-drancourt.com/

The coast down from Calais as far as St. Valery sur Somme is beautiful. Cap Griz Nez and Cap Blanc Nez are lovely. Wimereaux is also lovely.

Merlimont Plage is a lovely beach.

If you go up towards Belgium, then de Panne is nice.

Les Jardins de Valloires in Argoule are beautiful and are about an hour from Calais.

baiedesomme.org/html/fr/approche-carto/index…

Have fun!!

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Personally I would head out of Calais into the countryside and avoid the hypermarkets and booze cruisers.

There are some lovely towns either on the coast or inland and if memory serves all French towns are required to have a municiple camp site by law.

Try heading south from Calais along the coast road - there are some lovely little towns where you can sample fresh seafood and buy your wine and cheese in smaller shops (don%26#39;t get me wrong we shop mostly in hypermarkets in the south but they are too busy near the channel ports).

Or a little further on from Bologne the walled town of Montreuil (once sur Mer but no longer as the coast line changed over time). This town has a camp site and a variety of restaurants and shops including a dedicated wine shop - well signposted

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There is a municipal campsite in Calais more or less on the beach and by the port entrance; this is within easy walking distance of the nicer parts of Calais, rue Royale and the Place d’Armes.

Good wine shop (Le Bar a Vins) on the Place d’Armes and an excellent cheese shop (Maison du Fromage) opposite in the rue de la Paix

This location would also be walk able to the night scene again on the rue Royale, good eating place here is the Café de Paris

Or if a more quiet setting is your cup of tea go down the coast road D940 towards Boulogne and you’ll come across nice sites around the Ambleteuse area, very close to the beach but a bit more rural.

Carrefour in the Cité d’Europe is my preferred supermarket but if it’s just wine you want try one of the wine outlets on the outskirts of town like Franglais at Fréthun.

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Thanks everyone, lots of useful tips here, l can%26#39;t wait to go, gastric juices are getting going already!

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