Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the metropolitan area at the 1999 census was 125,584.

Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km wide here, and is the closest French town to England, of which Calais was a territorial possession for several centuries. The white cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day. The old part of the town, Calais proper, is situated on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbours. The modern part of the town, St-Pierre, lies to the south and southeast.

The city's proximity to England has made it a major port for centuries. It is the principal ferry crossing point between England and France, with the vast majority of Channel crossings being made between Dover and Calais. The French end of the Channel Tunnel is also situated in the vicinity of Calais, in Coquelles some 4 miles to the west of the town.

The mainstay of the town's economy is, naturally, its port, but it also has a number of indigenous industries. The principal ones are lace making, chemicals, and paper manufacture. It possesses direct rail links to Paris. Calais has restaurants that are popular with English visitors, in the tradition of seaside towns, but shopping is its most popular attraction.

Virtually the entire town was destroyed by heavy bombardments during World War II, so little in Calais pre-dates the war. The Tour de Guet, situated in Calais Nord on the Places d'Armes, is one of the few surviving pre-war buildings. The German wartime military headquarters, situated south of the train station in a small park, is today open to the public as a war museum.

The town centre is dominated by its distinctive town hall, built in the Flemish Renaissance style. Directly in front of the town hall is a cast of the statue The Burghers of Calais, by Auguste Rodin. The town centre has seen significant regeneration over the past decade. Another must see for visitors to the area is the Alhambra cinema, an arthouse cinema located on the same square as the Hôtel de Ville.

On the outskirts of Calais there is Cité Europe, a huge shopping complex with shops, a games arcade, bars restaurants and a multiplex cinema. Located next to Cité Europe is L'Usine, a factory outlet centre for higher-end brands. These are both built on land next to the Channel Tunnel terminal. Immediately to the west is the Côte d'Opale, an extremely scenic cliff-lined section of coast that parallels the white cliffs on the British coast and is part of the same geological formation. On clear days, the buildings of Calais can quite readily be seen with the naked eye from the British shore, 33 km away.