Enduro du Touquet Pas-de-Calais 2023

Enduro Le Touquet

Le Touquet Enduro: 2nd - 5th February 2023

The race has now been moved from January to the end of February. 

The Enduro du Touquet Pas-de-Calais or beach race started out in 1975 aided by the Le Touquet mayor, Léonce Deprez. Its popularity increases every year with some 1000 motorbikes, Quad bikes, and 250,000 spectators filling the town’s hotels and self-catering villa accommodation. If you are planning on going for the weekend of motocross then book your accommodation early. The race normally takes place around the end of January or early February every year.
Check out the Le Touquet 2020 Enduro route below.

Enduro du Touquet - The Race

The Le Touquet Enduro is very much a family and biker event, combining the serious competitor challenge of the race with a mad social weekend for all concerned. The roar of motorbike engines can be heard everywhere in the chic seaside resort often into the early hours. Even if you are not really a motorbike fan, the site of some 1000 + motorbikes and quads screaming along the sand dunes is an exhilarating experience.
The main race for Le Touquet Sand Enduro, as it is also known, takes place on  the Sunday. More recent years has seen the increasing popularity of the quad bike race on the Saturday with some 150 riders taking part.

Quad Bikes Le Touquet

The Route

The start line of the enduro motorcycle race is on the main beach close to the Aqualud water park and fun fair. The route stretches some 16Kms continuing along the beach past Stella Plage and Merlimont. The Sunday morning sees a continued swell in the numbers of people and traffic entering the town. St Josse Farmhouse is an excellent self catering villa to rent for the weekend or longer holiday. It provides a tranquil escape from the biker bash of the town yet within a short drive of a good viewing spot.

From St Josse Farmhouse  its an easy 10 minute drive down to the beach at Stella Plage. The beach at Stella Plage tends to be less crowded and you can get a good view of the mad biker action. For more details and how to book holiday cottages then please visit our website.

Recent environmental concerns with the preservation of Le Touquet’s sand dunes have seen some changes in the route over the past few years, but careful management and consultation with environmental groups should see the continuation of this exhilarating motorbike race for years to come. The race takes place around the end of Januray early February each year. Even if you can’t make the amazing  Enduro. Le Touquet – Paris Plage  is a beautiful 1920’s style holiday resort with glorious beaches and magical pine forests and has something to offer tourists all year round.

Enduro du Touquet Pas-de-Calais

Enduro Le Touquet

Le Touquet Enduro: 25th - 27th February 2022

The race has now been moved from January to the end of February. 

The Enduro du Touquet Pas-de-Calais or beach race started out in 1975 aided by the Le Touquet mayor, Léonce Deprez. Its popularity increases every year with some 1000 motorbikes, Quad bikes, and 250,000 spectators filling the town’s hotels and self-catering villa accommodation. If you are planning on going for the weekend of motocross then book your accommodation early. The race normally takes place around the end of January or early February every year.
Check out the Le Touquet 2020 Enduro route below.

Enduro du Touquet - The Race

The Le Touquet Enduro is very much a family and biker event, combining the serious competitor challenge of the race with a mad social weekend for all concerned. The roar of motorbike engines can be heard everywhere in the chic seaside resort often into the early hours. Even if you are not really a motorbike fan, the site of some 1000 + motorbikes and quads screaming along the sand dunes is an exhilarating experience.
The main race for Le Touquet Sand Enduro, as it is also known, takes place on  the Sunday. More recent years has seen the increasing popularity of the quad bike race on the Saturday with some 150 riders taking part.

Quad Bikes Le Touquet

The Route

The start line of the enduro motorcycle race is on the main beach close to the Aqualud water park and fun fair. The route stretches some 16Kms continuing along the beach past Stella Plage and Merlimont. The Sunday morning sees a continued swell in the numbers of people and traffic entering the town. St Josse Farmhouse is an excellent self catering villa to rent for the weekend or longer holiday. It provides a tranquil escape from the biker bash of the town yet within a short drive of a good viewing spot.

From St Josse Farmhouse  its an easy 10 minute drive down to the beach at Stella Plage. The beach at Stella Plage tends to be less crowded and you can get a good view of the mad biker action. For more details and how to book holiday cottages then please visit our website.

Recent environmental concerns with the preservation of Le Touquet’s sand dunes have seen some changes in the route over the past few years, but careful management and consultation with environmental groups should see the continuation of this exhilarating motorbike race for years to come. The race takes place around the end of Januray early February each year. Even if you can’t make the amazing  Enduro. Le Touquet – Paris Plage  is a beautiful 1920’s style holiday resort with glorious beaches and magical pine forests and has something to offer tourists all year round.

Twin Town Challenge 2022 Witney Le Touquet

Twin Town Challenge 2020

What is the Twin Town Challenge?

29th April – 2nd May 2022

Established in 2014, the Twin Town Challenge takes place every two years. To date the event has raised over £850,000 for Special Effect. The delayed Twin Town 2022 is the final event and they hope to take the fundraising total to over £1m! for SpecialEffect.

Twin towns Witney – Le Touquet, 100 cars, 1 amazing weekend. The Twin Town Challenge is a fun, team-based car challenge. Buy a £500 banger, add your own style and drive it from Oxfordshire to Le Touquet, France, competing in challenges along the way. All to raise money for technology charity SpecialEffect.

What is the Twin Town Challenge?
At its simplest, the Twin Town Challenge is a fun charity car rally. Teams buy a £500 banger and pimp their ride however they like. Then over Spring Bank Holiday weekend they take an epic road trip.

Twin Town Set Off Blenheim

The route goes from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire to Witney’s twin town, Le Touquet in northern France. Along the way you’ll take on challenges and the occasional lap of a circuit. The event is in aid of SpecialEffect – a charity focused on improving the lives of the physically disabled.

They arrange a series of fun events and challenges before the main event to help you get in the spirit and meet your fellow Twin Towners. These will see you rubbing shoulders with celebrities, stoking team rivalries and having great fun.

The big jamboree is in Le Touquet itself, where our French compatriots throw a street party extravagaza. Expect live bands, fine French food and flowing drinks to help you toast your successful trip!

On the return to Merry England, afternoon tea and an awards ceremony round off a fantastic, fun weekend. All in aid of a great cause.

Accommodation

If you are planning on attending the event and you need some accommodation in Le Touquet then please take a look at our website. We  still have availability for this weekend.

Twin Town Challenge Le Touquet

Donate

The Twin Town Challenge exists to support the fantastic work of SpecialEffect. They use technology to bring joy and fulfilment to the lives of physically disabled people. If you can’t take part in the Twin Town Challenge you can do your bit by donating. All money raised goes directly to SpecialEffect so please donate what you can today to help SpecialEffect improve more lives.

Every penny you donate will go directly to SpecialEffect. This helps them to provide one-to-one support that enables disabled people to work, play and lead more fulfilling lives through the use of technology.

Your donation will help to pay for occupational therapists, who take the time to understand each person’s needs. They then create customised controllers that can take the smallest movements from any part of the body and use this to control games, programs and other technology.

Text and images Twin Town

V2 Rocket Launch Sites near Le Touquet

V1 Doodlebug Rocket

La Coupole Helfaut-Wizernes

An original V2 rocket donated by the US to the Coupole museum.
Original V2 Rocket at La Coupole

V2 Rocket Launch Sites, A Hidden History of Pas-de-Calais.

 The Pas-de-Calais department is rich in history, particularly WW1 and WW2 history, due to the heavy presence of occupying Germans in both conflicts. The WW1 sites are famous, but the French state has also turned the remains of several WW2 sites into historic destinations. In particular, it’s restored the bunkers built as V2 rocket launch sites aimed at England in 1944.   

Barely more than an hour’s drive from Le Touquet, you can visit two fascinating WW2 places in one day.  Both belong to the history of  V2 rockets, the first missiles ever launched. After the war,  Wernher von Braun’s genius but deadly invention became the early rocket technology of the US space program. Most of the V2s that caused so much death and damage in England in September 1944 launched from the Netherlands. However,  the Pas-de-Calais was an experimental and practical site of the V2 rocket programme.

La Coupole: a Megalith for V2s Rocket Launches.

An exterior view of the V2 rocket launch site, the bunker dome at Wizernes, known as La Coupole museum
Exterior View of La Coupole
La Coupole is a spectacular place. Squatting the hills near Saint-Omer, it’s a massive dome that hides an underground bunker made up of large rooms and tunnels that any James Bond villain would enjoy.  Its purpose was deadly: but its construction had been too. Hundreds of slave labourers were used to build what was conceived as one of the main V2 rocket launch sites. In the event, the Germans abandoned the bunker after the Allies bombed it in the summer of 1944,  and it was never used for its purpose.
 

Nowadays, La Coupole is one of the most ambitious museums in Northern France. This giant concrete dome showcases the scientific and military history of the V2 rockets and a 3D Planetarium about the space age. It also serves as the regional memorial to the victims of Nazi Occupation in France.

A centre to educate and entertain, La Coupole offers several exciting exhibits. It also serves to show documentary films about the Second World War and put on temporary exhibitions.  One such is running until the end of June 2019 – British Aviation in the Skies of Northern France, 1943-1944.  

Attractions

By far the greatest draw are the V2 rockets circuit and exhibits and the Planetarium. Charting the development of V2 rockets from von Braun’s design board up to the end of the war, the V2 circuit explains and demonstrates early rocket technology. It also explores the historical use of V2s against London and other cities.

The Planetarium screens a 3D show three times a day and picks up where the circuit leaves off, taking the audience from the V2 rockets to the moon landings. To achieve full impact, it is experiential rather than documentary methods, so that you are launched into the exploration of space in 3D, with film, sound and light effects.

 

Le Blockaus at Eperlecques: hi-tech war in the forest

Bunker at Eperlecques, known as Le Blockaus - V1 and V2 rocket launch site in Pas-de-Calais.
Blockhaus at Eperlecques
Less than half-an-hour from La Coupole, across the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale, is the foreboding concrete block known as Le Blockhaus,  a German word meaning ‘bunker’. Using slave labour, the Germans built the bunker as a launch site for the V1 flying bomb (also known as the Doodlebug), and for the V2 rockets. They abandoned its original purpose after aerial bombardments in the summer of 1944, and converted it into a liquid oxygen factory. 
 
While less sophisticated than the nearby V2 rocket launch site museum at Wizernes, the Blockhaus demonstrates the reality of the V1 and V2 programme in its harsh reality. 
  
V1 Doodlebug Rocket

Practical details for your V2 launch sites visits.

La Coupole-Wizernes site diagram by the Allies in September 1944.
Allied diagram of the V2 bunker at Wizernes

Directions

  • To La Coupole, Wizernes by car from Le Touquet: via the A16 and the N42 roads. 
  • From La Coupole to Eperlecques Blockhaus by car: via the D943 road. 
  • There is a train from Le Touquet (Etaples) to Saint-Omer, and a shuttle called Moveo from Saint-Omer to La Coupole. 
  • Length of visit: La Coupole history museum average length of visit: 2.5 hours. 
  • Open daily from 9AM to 6PM, and in July and August, from 10AM to 7PM. Closed at Christmas and New Year, and every year between the 7th and the 20th of January. 
  • 3D Planetarium: 3 sessions a day, consisting of a 15 minutes introduction and 30 minutes show. Shows available in English via audio sets. 
  • Blockhaus at Eperlecques: 45 minutes approximately. The area near the bunker is also popular for picnics. 
  • Facilities at La Coupole: audio sets, shop and café, and a free picnic area. 
  • Accessibility: both La Coupole and the Blockhaus d’Eperlecques are accessible to wheelchairs. 
Rocket Storage tunnel in La Coupole bunker at Wizernes, Pas-de-Calais
Ida tunnel at La Coupole, Wizernes

If you find the subject of V1 and V2 fascinating then why not give the 1965 movie “Operation Crossbow” ago. It has a big star cast including Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard. It features the methods used to destroy Hitler’s revenge weapons.

International Kite Festival at Berck-sur-Mer

Kite Festival Berck sur mer

Kite Festival Berck sur mer

The International Kite Festival has taken place in Berck-sur-Mer for over 25 years. Next year’s 35th  RICV event hopefully will take place in April 2021. The dates are still to be announced due to Covid 19 restrictions.
Over the years it has become an event not to be missed on the Côte d’Opale. For 8 days in wind and sea enthusiasts, athletes or thrill-seekers can admire many giant kites, each with its own unique design. 
Due to the numerous visitors during the festival days and the high demand for accommodation it is recommended to check availability and book rooms well in advance.

A Family Activity Day Out

Almost 700,000 spectators come to the vast Berck-sur-Mer beach to marvel the world’s best kite-makers’ new creations.  Open to everyone, there is entertainment for all ages. Children can learn how to make and fly kites in a safe environment. Marine life, astonishing flying creatures, giant octopuses, even memorable cartoon characters drift across the sky. A colourful festival where you have your feet in the sand and your head in the sky. 

Every Spring, the skies above the beach of Berck-sur-Mer explode with colour. Kites line up in well orchestrated displays for the crowds.  Berck-sur-Mer is pretty seaside town 40 minutes from Calais. Is is also a short 25 mins drive from our holiday rental accommodation in Le Touquet. The Kite Festival takes place on the beautiful sandy beach, its a great thing to do for all members of the family young and old. If you can’t make it to the event then why not peek at the Live Webcam on the beach.

Things to See

One of the favourite things to see at the Berck sur Mer kite festival are the flying battles between experts. International teams from all over the world come to take part in this colourful spectacular. On the last evening there is a night time flying display backed up with a firework show. There are many stalls at the event with Kites from many countries. Learn the history of kites or feast on the explosion of colour.
 
There are fantastic activities for kids. You not only make kites but get to have a go at flying some of the more exotic designs yourself.  .  For more information about the event visit the organisers website.
Kites Berck Plage

Le Touquet is a great base for visiting the Kite Festival and local attractions. Go swimming in the Aqualud, visit the Aquarium in Boulogne (Nausica)  try some Sand yachting in Le Touquet, visit the maze at Laby’Parc.

Berck sur Mer Kite Festival Accommodation

If you are coming to the kite festival we currently have plenty of accommodation in Le Touquet just 25 minutes drive away.

28ème Salon du vin au féminin – Le Touquet Paris-Plage

28ème Salon du vin au féminin - Le Touquet Paris-Plage

Four Seasons Room
Hippodrome Avenue
62520 LE TOUQUET-PARIS-PLAGE

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2020
Inauguration of the fair and conference (Private evening by invitation only)

SATURDAY 8 AND SUNDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2020
Fair open from 10h to 19h
Entrance: € 7 with a free tasting glass.

Organised by the Club du Vin au Féminin. The Le Touquet Wine Festival brings together 85 exhibitors presenting the wine and gastronomic wealth of France.
Many appellations are present: Alsace, Loire, Jura, Champagne, Languedoc, Bordeaux, Provence, Rhone Valley, Burgundy, South West … from the most prestigious to the newcomers all is to discover.  The 35 members of the Wine Club au Féminin, all dressed in pink and black, welcome you and guide you during the show.
 
This year marks the 28th anniversary of the wine festival and upwards of 4000 visitors are likely to pass the gates. You will receive a warm welcome at any of the 85 wine stands.
 
Visitors have plenty of time to chat with those who have worked the vineyards and know their product. Wine growers present their know-how and offer advice on tasting, conservation or even food and wine pairing.

Taste buds will be buzzing with a wide range of regional flavors. From foie gras to cheeses and chocolate, gourmands appreciate the many on-site delights.

Why not  book one of our apartments or villas.  Sample some of the great wines the Le Touquet Wine Festival has to offer.

Ladies-Wine-Festival-Le-Touquet

Wine In France

Regarded as the world’s premier wine making country, France produces eight billion bottles every year. Foreign wines get labelled according to the grape used.  French wine is identified by the soil on which the grapes are grown. The term “terroir”, often heard in conversations about wine translates, as the specificity of place.  This has come to include not only the soil in a region, but also the climate. This is why the same grape variety that is planted in different regions can produce wines so different from each other. 

Wine Health

Of course your doctor advises you to drink wine in moderation.  
Several human trial’s have shown moderate red wine consumption to be better for you than not drinking at all.  The antioxidants found in red wine lower incidences of cardiovascular disease, mortality, and type-2 diabetes.

Trail Des Deux Baies – Le Touquet Trail of 2 Bays Marathon

Trail des deux baies - Le Touquet

Trail Des Deux Baies (Trail D2B)

Trail Des Deux Baies on the 26th January 2020 marks the 13th year of the event.  The D2B Trail is a nature run along the coastline of the Opal Coast. Its special features include sand dunes and harsh weather.  Its a challenging course made for adventurers. You can pick your race depending on distance and ability, there are 4 races.

  • A 42km marathon for seasoned competitors, a great preparation for
    the marathon des sables or the ultra-trails on a demanding course.
    Departure from Le Touquet: 8h00 on the beach to the north €27.
  • A trail of 23.5km accessible to as many people as possible.
    Departure from Le Touquet, South Aqualud: 10:30 a.m. Arrival at Le Touquet Paris-Plage, Hippodrome €20
  • An 11.5km short trail as well as a golf course.
    Departure from Stella Plage: 10:30 am on the beach €14
  • A 3km short trail for the young competitors.
    Departure from Le Touquet: 11h30 on the beach €5

For your convenience, shuttle buses are available for € 3  available betweeen Le Touquet -> Stella. 

For the 11.5km: RDV from 10:00 am to the right of the Aqualud near the Skate park (Bd Thierry Sabine) for a departure at 10:30 AM MAXIMUM

 Le Touquet Parking Plan.

Last year over  2,200 participants came to let off steam on the Opal Coast. With over 1200 runners already registered time is running out if you want to book your place on this great run. There two mythical bays of the region which offer the participants and the numerous spectators breathtaking landscapes!

Accommodation - Trail Des Deaux Baies

If you have not booked your accommodation in Le Touquet then take a look at our website. We still have  some larger properties that are ideal if you are a group of friends entering the race.

You can register online for the 2020 Trail Des Deaux Baies by visiting the organisers website.

Le Touquet Jazz Festival

Jazz Festival Le Touquet

Festival Jazz à Noël

As the Christmas lights of this pretty seaside town twinkle in the night sky celebrate the joy of Christmas with some amazing jazz.  During the month of December the jazz artistes gather to perform  a variety of jazz styles. The Le Touquet Jazz Festival has many concerts free where all generations can soak up the joy of  jazz music.

Sat 21st December.

Launch of the Christmas Jazz Festival in Le Touquet. 

From Dec. 21 to Jan. 5, 2020, the whole city comes alive to the rhythm of Jazz, musical  activities and concerts.

As part of Jazz at Christmas: There is a concert every Saturday, from 30 Nov. to 4 Jan. from 11am on the square in front of the post office.

STACEY KENT
At 8:30 pm, Salle des Quatre Saisons
Tickets €30 – €46.80

Stacey Kent is a jazz singer in the mould of the greats, with a legion of fans worldwide, a host of honours and awards including a Grammy nomination, album sales in excess of 2 million, Gold, Double-Gold and Platinum-selling albums that have reached a series of No. 1 chart positions during the span of her career. 

SUNDAY DECEMBER 22, 2019
AMÉLIE, EDDY AND THE BIG BAND
At 17h, Salle des Quatre Saisons.

THE GLOSSY SISTERS
At 8:30 pm, Salle des Quatre Saisons.
Tickets – €25 – €31.20
Three powerful voices, mastered to perfection: that’s what’s striking for the Glossy Sisters. Sharp arrangements, braided voices to each other, strong individuality, and voices that sometimes merge and unite to form one formidable sound.

Christmas Jazz Programme

Details of ticketing and more information about the Le Touquet Jazz Festival 2019 may be found here.

Le Touquet boasts a hectic summer music events schedule culminating in the Touquet Music Beach festival at the end of August. Find out more…

Visit our Le Touquet guide for much more information on what to do in this great holiday get away.

Le Touquet Christmas Markets

Le Touquet Christmas Parade

Christmas Market Le Touquet

Le Touquet Christmas Markets take place mainly in the Village Noel. With, great food, and music it’s a French Weekend Break not to be missed. The town takes on a magical feel as the sky twinkles with fairy lights as Santa skates between the trees. So why not go along and get into the Christmas spirit, drink some wine and listen to the Harmonie Jazz Band du Touquet
The Christmas village and other activities go on every weekend until the 5th January.
You won’t want to miss the Le Touquet Christmas Parade on the 14th December.

More details and the full program of events may be found below…..
We have some great Christmas Markets accommodation deals.
Check Availability and Pricing

Le Touquet Christmas Markets

The Christmas Village – Avenue Du Verger

Le Touquet Christmas Markets

Chalets for shopkeepers, crafts and delicacies, swing merry-go-round.
Open every weekend from 29 Nov. then every day from 21 Dec. to 5 Jan., from 14H30 to 20H.

Special  closing time at 6 pm on 24 and 31 Dec.
Special opening times from 3 pm to 7 pm on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1

THE ICE RINK – YPRES GARDEN

Open on Wednesday afternoons and weekends from Nov. 30, then every day from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5.

From 10am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 7pm – Closed at 6pm on Dec 24 and 31.

Special  opening hours from 3pm to 7pm on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1

Rates: €5 for young children (8 years old and under) and €8 for adults – 10 tickets: € 60.

Free skates for toddlers.

THE ENCHANTED FOREST – PINE PARK

Meet Santa Claus and drop off your letter every weekend from Nov. 29 to Dec. 24 from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Food Chalets filled with Christmas delicacies. Horse-drawn carriage rides from the Place de l’Hermitage.

Le Touquet Christmas Parade

29 NOV. – 17H30 – PINE PARK

Christmas lights switch on with the Harmonie Jazz Band du Touquet.
Opening of the Christmas village (17H30-20H) with  enchanted rides. Food and drink available.

Saturday 30th NOV. – 6:30 PM – PINE PARK

Santa Claus’ arrival in the resort, accompanied by the Harmonie Jazz Band.
Followed by a firework display in on the waterfront around 7pm.
Opening of the Ice rink.

1ST DEC. – FROM 16H30 TO 18H30 – Le Touquet Christmas Markets.

4th DEC. – 3PM – CITY HALL

The Zelfies
Musical entertainment with the Zelfies.

Meeting with Saint Nicolas (Santa Cluase0 and Le Père Fouettard, organized by the youth centre and led by the Harmonie Jazz Band du Touquet-Paris-Plage.
For those that don’t know the tradition of x Père Fouettard  (French for “Father Whipper” or “Old Man Whipper”) he is a character who accompanies Santa Clause  on his rounds during St. Nicholas’ Day (6 December) dispensing lumps of coal or beatings to naughty children while Santa  gives gifts to the well behaved.

6th  & 7th  December
Telethon and Christmas Market Weekend

Christmas Village activities as part of the Telethon charity fund raising.

Musical entertainment with the Zelfies.

SAM. 7 DEC. (6PM-22PM) AND SUNDAY 8 DEC. (9AM-7PM) – Covered Market

Le Touquet Christmas market organised by the Amicale du personnel communal et paracommunal du Touquet.

Christmas Parade

Saturday. 14 DEC. – 18H
by the Association Le Touquet. Decorated music floats and light parade.

Departure from the Bascoulergue Room and finishes in the covered market.

Saturday  14 DEC. – From  16H30 TO 18H30 – Christmas Shopping.

Sunday 15th  DEC. – COVERED MARKET PLACE
Le Touquet Christmas Markets

Le Touquet Christmas Shopping

To download the full listings for Le Touquet Christmas Markets.

Boulogne Castle-Museum and Walled City

Walled City of Boulogne: the Town Hall and traditional Belfry
Porte des Dunes, Old Town of Boulogne, postcard 1910
1910 postcard showing the Porte des Dunes, Walled City, Boulogne-sur-mer.

Fortifications and Castle-Museum: a day in Mediaeval Boulogne

Walking through the Walled City of Boulogne-sur-Mer on a summer morning is a delight for the senses. That is, the five senses… and the sense of history. Built on a hill overlooking the sea, the Walled City encloses its winding streets, quaint boulangeries and flowery squares in thick Mediaeval walls. A short stroll through this lively old town takes you from the elegant 18th century Town Hall, with its ancient traditional Belfry, past the law courts (Palais de Justice), to the 19th century domed Basilica of Our Lady of Boulogne.  Further along, and still within the Walled City, is our main destination today: the Boulogne Castle-Museum.

Walled City of Boulogne: the Town Hall and traditional Belfry
Town Hall and Belfry, Boulogne-sur-mer, Walled City

A hyphen between England and France

The town of Boulogne is an intrinsic part of the history of both England and France. A Count of Boulogne accompanied William the Conqueror in his conquest of England. A century later, a Countess of Boulogne was English King Stephen’s queen consort. A son of the French King Philip Augustus, Philip ‘Spiky-Hair’ (aka Philippe Hurepel), married a Countess of Boulogne. He built the castle and the fortifications of Boulogne in 1231, on the site of the old Roman fort. And his reason? He was rebelling against his sister-in-law, the Queen Regent Blanche of Castille, who was making life difficult the rest of the French royal family. 

But young Philip Spiky-Hair did not survive long after his building spree. In 1234, he died taking part in a joust, having previously killed another tournament participant. It was a dangerous time to be a knight…or even a prince! 

Under the Tudors, the castle and walled city continued to play a role in the history of England and France. Henry VIII conquered Boulogne from the French King Henry II in 1544. Six years later, the French King bought back Boulogne from the English Crown as part of a peace treaty.

The Boulogne Connection

Although it remained in French hands, Boulogne became a centre of smuggling to Britain. Boulogne and Sussex smugglers would pass tea, wine and spirits from France into England, to avoid the heavy taxes imposed by the British Customs and Excise. By the 1780s, this illegal trade had become more lucrative than all the fishing industry of Boulogne and the Sussex Coast put together! Smuggling continued during the Napoleonic Wars: to tea and spirits, the smugglers added spies and information. In the same way as Hastings and Rye across the Channel, Boulogne owed its economy to smuggling. 

Monument to the Boulogne people dead for France, in the French Resistance to Nazi Occupation. Belfry of Boulogne, Walled City, Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Monument to the Boulogne Resistance, Town Hall, Walled City.

From dingy barracks to Boulogne Castle-Museum

From the 17th century, the French authorities used the castle as military barracks.  Much later, the Nazis occupied it, along with the Town Hall, to impose occupation of the region. As a coastal town, Boulogne became one of the centres of the Resistance, with Philip Spiky-Hair’s rebel castle as its symbol. After the war,  the castle became a prison. Finally, in 1974, the town of Boulogne acquired it and the existing museum of Boulogne moved its art and architecture collections into its ancient halls. The Mediaeval chateau revived as the magnificent Castle-Museum it is now.

Castle of Boulogne, seen from the side.
Castle-Museum of Boulogne-sur-mer - Photo: Velvet, Creative Commons.

The Boulogne Castle-Museum today

Inside its imposing fortress, the Castle-Museum of Boulogne houses permanent and temporary collections. Along with Egyptian sarcophagi –  if you’re a fan of The Mummy, you’re in luck! – the Museum is most famous for its Ancient Greek ceramics.  Alongside such treasures, you can see historic European art and decorative arts, including drawings by great masters such as Rembrandt and Manet. The Castle-Museum also showcases a unique collection of French 19th and early 20th century painting, sculpture and glassware. In 1916, Charles Lebeau, an industrialist and art collector, left his art collection in his will to the town of Boulogne. From the sculptor Rodin to the painters Corot, Courbet and Sisley, this collection displays all the technical and artistic innovation of the 1870s to 1910s. Stunning glassware from the pre-war Great Exhibitions rounds off the Lebeau legacy.

Gustave Courbet, Marée montante (Incoming Tide), 1860-1865, Museum of Boulogne sur mer
Gustave Courbet, Marée montante (Incoming Tide) - Inventory nr: 69L, Provenance: Museum of Boulogne-sur-mer, Copyright: Photography service, Museum of Boulogne-sur-mer.

Boulogne Castle-Museum presents: A Season in Greece

Next to the Louvre Museum, the Greek collection at the the Castle-Museum of Boulogne is the greatest in France and one of the most important in the world. Boulogne owes its Greek collection to the early 19th century collector Charles Panckoucke. This Paris-based publisher and antiquarian satisfied his obsession with the Greek demigod Herakles (Hercules) and other Greek mythological characters by buying up a phenomenal number of Greek vases depicting the heroes. The Museum of Boulogne acquired the collection in 1861, and it forms a central part of the artefacts in the Castle-Museum.

From the 6th July to the 8th December 2019, the Castle-Museum is putting on a special exhibition on Greek ceramics. As well as its own stunning collection of Greek vases and other artefacts, it will be displaying some unique pieces from all over the Ancient Greek world. During that time, the museum will be closing its local history rooms to the public.

Suicide of Ajax, black figure vase by Exekias of Athens, circa 550-525 BC, on display at the Museum of Boulogne sur mer.
Suicide of Ajax, Black figure vase by Exekias, Athens circa 530 BC. - Inventory nr: 558.R3, Provenance: Museum of Boulogne-sur-mer; Copyright: photography service, Museum of Boulogne sur mer.

Useful information

Boulogne-sur-Mer is 45 minutes from Le Touquet, via the A16 road.
Trains from Etaples (Le Touquet) to Boulogne take 26 minutes.

The Walled City is at the top of the town, on a steep hill. You can reach it by car and park just outside the fortifications, or inside along the streets or in two main car parks: Parking de l’Enclos de l’Êveché and Parking de la Place de la Résistance. Go early, as the car parks fill up.

It’s a 20 minute walk from the main train station to the Old Town, and a 15 minute bus ride from the central bus station (900 metres from the train station) on bus line B1.

Castle-Museum opening hours: between the 2nd May and the 30th September, opens at 9.30 am and closes at 6pm. From the 1st October to the 30th April, opens mornings between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm and afternoons between 2 pm and 5:30 pm. The Castle-Museum closes on the 1st January, 1st May and 24th, 25th and 31st of December.

Permanent collections cost €6 and €4 for concessions*. Temporary collections cost €3 and €2 for concessions. To view all exhibits, €7 and €5.
To see the whole museum, including the historic castle, the crypt and the exhibits: €10 and €6 for concessions.

Children up to 16 can visit the Castle-Museum for free, as can students in history, history of art, art students and students in museum and heritage studies.

*concessions: seniors over 65, young people between the ages of 16 and 25, students apart from those who can go for free.

 

Nehemsimontus' median sarcophagus, Thebes, 25th-26th Dynasty, at the Museum of Boulogne-sur-Mer
Sarcophagus of Nehemsimontu, author unknown, Thebes 25th-26th Dynasty. - Inventory nr: 1b.R2; Provenance : Museum of Boulogne sur mer copyright: photography service, Museum of Boulogne sur mer.

Off to Look Elsewhere? Did you know you will pay around 15% more on Air BNB and similar sites. For the best price always.

Or Join Our mailing list to receive.

  • Your FREE Le Touquet Travel Guide.
  • First access to Special Offers

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required