Calais area for a day

[badgerade]

I've got a day ticket on the eurotunnel next weekend, arriving in Calais at around 9am with a train back at 8pm. Pressure is now on to fill up this 11 hours and prevent boredom for my 7 year old (who is pretty easy going) my wife and her sister.

I want to head to a supermarket to pick up some nice cheeses/meats/seafood etc and also get a decent lunch/evening meal somewhere.

Few questions.. Looks to be a Carrefour in Cite Europe - is this any good, or are we better heading away from the Port area and going to one of the hypermarkets a bit further out?

Any recommendations for lunch that is family friendly?

Anything else that is interesting?

Thanks!

[Stephanie Plum]

I would advise getting out of Calais. Head south an hour to Le Touquet.

[p1stonhead]

Calais is a st hole.

If it were me I'd be heading to Bruges for the day. It's less than an hour from Calais.

[pincher]

Either of the above are what I would suggest too. Bruges is very pretty and Le Touquet has a lovely beach (although might not be so grand at the end of November!). If you head there you could stop off in Boulougne on the way back to Calais?

[mad4amanda]

Nausicaa is brilliant and only 20 min away a wonderful day out!


http://www.nausicaa.co.uk/?Marque&gclid=Cj0KEQ...

[badgerade]

Thanks all! Think we'll be doing a quick exit from Calais to Bolougne (looks like there is a good fish market in the port so best to get there early) then head onwards to Le Touquet. Should be plenty to fill up the day with

[Robertj21a]

.
I would tend to agree that it's better to get out of Calais. I'm another that would suggest Bruges.

[andyb28]

30 mins up the road is Boulogne-sur-Mer.

[The Leaper]

Ignore Calais, far better places a short drive away. If you want to stock up on alcohol and other French specialities the best bet is the Auchon superstore on the outskirts of Bolougne, 20 minutes max from Calais. Do the shopping and head for Bolougne town centre, especially the old town for lunch. Go to Nautica in Bolougne near the port afterwards.

Or head for Le Touquet for posh shops and restaurants.

Nicest town within range is Monteuil-sur-Mer, maybe 45 minutes from Calais. Small, nice restaurants, good to walk around the town.

Google is your friend.

R.

[rufmeister]

De Panne in Belgium.

Huge, HUGE beach, very clean, nice long promenade, lots of lovely cafes and restaurants.

Half hour or so away from Calais, and feels like you're in a different world to the uk.

[Bluebarge]

badgerade said:

Thanks all! Think we'll be doing a quick exit from Calais to Bolougne (looks like there is a good fish market in the port so best to get there early) then head onwards to Le Touquet. Should be plenty to fill up the day with

I don't think I'd bother doing Boulogne AND Le Touquet - that might prove a bit rushed. Boulogne has a nice old town (a walk up the hill) and Nausicaa will take you a few hours to get round. After a decent lunch it will by then be mid-afternoon. There are some nice beaches/resorts between Boulogne and Calais (Wimereux/Wissant) and the coast road between the Boulogne and Calais is very scenic. I'd stop off at Cap Gris Nez for the views of Dover and the WW2 gun emplacements (assuming it's not dark by then) and then head to the Carrefour at Cite Europe (check opening times as won't be the same as UK). I'd arrive early for your Eurotunnel as there can be long delays due to added security (took me 3.5 hours to get through on the Saturday after the Paris bombings but it has got better since apparently - I'd still allow an extra hour or so than the minimum to be on the safe side).

[rdjohn]

Drive a few miles inland to the historic town of St Omer. You can also have an excellent lunchtime menu at http://www.aubistronome.fr Do remember that in France lunch is 12-2pm, so no all day menu outside of very touristy places.

The Carrefour at City de Europe is very well stocked, but usually pretty busy. If you have a a Diesel car you can fill up at about €1.05/litre.

[Composite Guru]

Get yourself here if you are into war stuff. Eye opening stuff on what the Nazis built to bombard the UK with missiles.

http://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/


This place is an extension of the facility too.

http://www.leblockhaus.com/en/

[Europa1]

Make sure you have plenty of fuel - by all accounts, filling up near Calais these days can be quite unpleasant unless you want to bring back a migrant with your cheese and wine.

[Rude-boy]

Europa1 said:

Make sure you have plenty of fuel - by all accounts, filling up near Calais these days can be quite unpleasant unless you want to bring back a migrant with your cheese and wine.

The point is noted and well intentioned but unless yo are planning to fill up on the Autoroute I would not stress about this. Do keep your eyes open though and do not leave shopping bags and the like on display. There are plenty of voleurs (tea leafs to you and I) about. Their favourite pray are those that bomb over to Adinkerke for tabs and then back to CdeE for food. Whilst you are in CdeE the friend of the nasty pastey in the car pack at Adinkerke has called through your car details and how many bags to remove from your boot once they have opened it...

[vixen1700]

rdjohn said:

Drive a few miles inland to the historic town of St Omer. You can also have an excellent lunchtime menu at http://www.aubistronome.fr Do remember that in France lunch is 12-2pm, so no all day menu outside of very touristy places.

The Carrefour at City de Europe is very well stocked, but usually pretty busy. If you have a a Diesel car you can fill up at about €1.05/litre.

Another vote for St Omer, a nice little town.

[gtidriver]

Is it Saturday or Sunday that you are going??? Lots of France is shut Sunday. I'd say Brugges or Ostend, not sure if it's still there but in middlekirke there's a massive outdoor area with high walk ways rope swings etc my lad wanted to go on it but my back was giving me grief that day. If you go to Ostend be aware that a lot of the restaurants do not accept card for payment only Euro notes. Also if you do go to Belgium allow a load of time to get back into France as the French shut the border forcing all the traffic from the motorway. Look at a map, you need to get to adinkirke and pick up the old road that runs along the river. Don't forget euro break down cover. And remember if the immigrants try to stop you, don't stop.

[steveo3002]

Composite Guru said:

Get yourself here if you are into war stuff. Eye opening stuff on what the Nazis built to bombard the UK with missiles.

http://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/


This place is an extension of the facility too.

http://www.leblockhaus.com/en/

anything else like that in the area ? sounds okay

[Composite Guru]

steveo3002 said:

Composite Guru said:

Get yourself here if you are into war stuff. Eye opening stuff on what the Nazis built to bombard the UK with missiles.

http://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/


This place is an extension of the facility too.

http://www.leblockhaus.com/en/

anything else like that in the area ? sounds okay

There is this but I've never been.

http://www.mimoyecques.com/

[Old Merc]

Composite Guru said:

steveo3002 said:

Composite Guru said:

Get yourself here if you are into war stuff. Eye opening stuff on what the Nazis built to bombard the UK with missiles.

http://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/


This place is an extension of the facility too.

http://www.leblockhaus.com/en/

anything else like that in the area ? sounds okay

There is this but I've never been.

http://www.mimoyecques.com/

There was a documentary about Mimoyecques on TV last night.Good job the RAF bombed the st out of it before the Nazi`s fired that V3 supergun.
I`ve been to the two others,very interesting places,well worth a visit and they will make you think,what if??.Mind you its WW2 stuff and in the middle of the countryside,not sure the OP`s wife and seven year old would like the places.