La Manche

The town of Calais located on the French coast of the English Channel that is called in French la Manche only 20 miles km from the English coast. Due to its vicinity to England, during the second world war it was used as a base for bombing Britain. With a good visibility you can see the white chalk cliffs of Dover. The port of Calais is the main gate with England by the sea. The city is a very popular tourist destination for British and every day many ferries can  be seen coming and going to England transporting foot passengers cars and lorries. Nearby is the entrance to the French part of the tunnel that runs the Eurostar in Coquelles Sangatte and further on is its first stop in France at Frethun . Calais is the centre of the tourist region of the beautiful Opal Coast and the D940 connects Calais with all these beautiful seaside. The city is divided into the Old Town area within the old city walls, and the new suburb of St. Pierre. One of the most famous landmarks of Calais is its bell tower at the City hall. In the square also of the city hall stands the statue of Les Bourgeois de Calais made by the famous French sculpture Augustine Rodin The statue was made to commemorate the famous event during the 100 Years War when the city of Calais withstood in 1346 an English siege for almost a year, during that siege 6 people of Calais surrendered  to the English and the city avoided a massacre. There are open markets in Place D’Armes and at Place du Marechal Foch on Sundays where you can by local products. Due to its proximity to the S.E of England it is a popular daytrip or short break for English tourists. Because of that you will find many English style pubs around the Place D’ Armes and in other main boulevards of the town.