The department of Pas-de-Calais is located on the coast of the English Channel and the North Sea. An excellent destination for a beach holiday. During the day, relax at the beach and in the evening walk along the boardwalk and enjoy a snack and a drink in one of the many restaurants or cosy terraces.
Visit places like Calais, Le Touquet and Saint Omer, each with its own special features and interesting sights. Pas-de-Calais is also an ideal destination for active holidays, like golf, horseback riding, beach sailing, tennis, hiking, paintballing or quad biking. The leisure park “Laby Parc Saint-Josse” offers go-karting, trampoline jumping and running through a wooden labyrinth. Highly recommended for a holiday with children!
A cottage in Pas-de-Calais is the ideal starting point for a visit to Calais. This city has the largest passenger port in France and with more than 35 million people crossing the Channel by boat and through the nearby Channel Tunnel.
Calais used to be famous for its lace and today it is still an important export product. There are some companies that make lace using traditional methods. In Calais you can find the sculpture of "The Six Burghers of Calais”, the Town Hall, the Museum of Fine Arts and the International Lace and Fashion Museum. Furthermore, the Place d'Armes, the Watchtower, the Lighthouse, the Notre Dame Church and Fort Risban are highly recommended.
Le Touquet is also known as Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. In the 30s of the last century it was the stylish resort for the elite. Le Tourquet has 16 kilometres (10 miles) of sandy beaches where you can walk, swim, sail, ride a horse or just relax. It is also recommended to visit the fishing docks of Etaples-sur-Mer. You can eat in one of the many restaurants and, enjoy the local bars or discotheques well into the night.
A visit to Saint Omer cannot be missed during a vacation in Pas-de-Calais. Do the Cathedral of Saint Omer, a magnificent building from the 11th century. The town is very proud of its cultural heritage, museums and the impressive library. It is therefore no surprise that the city has been nicknamed the "City of Art and History”.
Berck-sur-Mer hosts the international kite festival, which takes place every year in April. A beautiful show with thousands of coloured kites in all shapes and sizes fly above the sandy bay of “Authie” along the Opal Coast. In Arras, you can enjoy an impressive sound and light show. And besides cheese, also taste the gingerbread, the beer and sausage “Chti Andouilliette”.