How Calais got cool: France’s much-maligned port city has had a glow-up

Think you know the formerly down-at-heel booze cruise hub? Think again, writes Claire Naylor

A new promenade has given Calais a boost (Fred Collier)

Calais – former destination for booze cruise travellers and current home of displaced people – is not often the featured shot on a glossy tourism brochure. Post-Brexit, the desire to linger in the supermarkets pondering the potential savings of Carrefour vs Tesco has all but vanished, so most tourists simply roll on/off the ferry or LeShuttle with the aim of getting wherever else they’re going as quickly as possible.

But things are changing in the city and around the beach; it’s time for lovers of art and culture to start factoring Calais in as part of their travel plans.

Phase one of a 15-year investment project to restore and reinvigorate the seafront has been completed. There’s now a wide promenade to appeal to walkers and cyclists, with a brand-new large skatepark and several play areas. Wander along the wide, clean beach and watch the ferries sail by, or try to catch a glimpse of the White Cliffs out in the distance over the sparkling Channel.

Calais’s plage is often overlooked by travellers passing through (Yannick Cadart)

It’s all perfectly pleasant, but what makes this curve of coastline more exciting than your regular plage is its huge resident fire-breathing dragon; you might even have spotted it parading along the waterfront as you sailed into Calais Port. Commissioned by mayor Natacha Bouchart and designed by François Delaroziere (one of the artists behind Les Machines des Iles in Nantes), the 12m-high beast made of steel and wood is a free piece of street theatre operated by four “machinists”, or puppet masters. These skilled manipulators can make the 72-tonne dragon walk, swing its tail, extend its wings, roar, snort, sneeze, spit and breath fire, as well as make various facial expressions. It can carry up to 48 passengers, who clamber up its staircase-tail to reach the balcony on its back and ride it on its 45-minute-long lap along the waterfront.

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You might argue that you’ve got a better view of the performance down at ground level, though. Watch the dragon stalk its territory and own the promenade, entertaining its audience on every outing. Each performance is unique: it might take an interest in a passing ship and extend its wings in a territorial sign of defiance; it will probably raise its head up high, let out a mighty roar and breathe out fire; and it will almost certainly lock eyes with passersby, blink its eyelids heavy with lashes, and grace spectators with a misty spray or – the unlucky ones – with a splash of dragon snot. This is a curious, playful beast, a protector of its lair and a guardian of the seafront.

The Calais Dragon is an innovative way to experience the city (Fred Collier)

Not far from the dragon’s nave – a huge transparent storage hangar – is the Sentinel Iguana. This 4m-long mechanical beast stays put upon a shipping container watching over the Dragon City, and offers a free opportunity for anyone to play at being a “machinist”. Attempt to manipulate the oversized lizard via a couple of joysticks on the control panel, making it move its head and tail, stand up and jet water.

Things are changing in the city and around the beach; it’s time for lovers of art and culture to start factoring Calais in as part of their travel plans

These are the first two machine-creatures in Calais’s bestiary, with a series of 13 reptiles due to settle in the city. The aim is to bring creativity to the urban landscape, to offer a free piece of theatre for all, and to open up parts of the city that were previously neglected. The dragon and iguana’s passenger-carrying, lizard-like relatives are expected to move around the city, incorporating iconic sites on their journeys. The family of travelling iguanas will take up residence in Fort Nieulay, while a group of monitor lizards will be based in the heritage site of Fort Risban near the Dragon City. This heritage site dating from the 14th century will be redeveloped, welcoming visitors to further interact with these curious sculptural machines.

Calais’s streets are lined with thought-provoking street art (Yannick Cadar)

Moving away from the beach – which you can do on the local bus at no cost because Calais’s public transport is completely free – follow a trail of large-scale murals that fill city walls and pavements. The summer street art festival runs 14 July to 15 August showcasing the brilliant creations, from patterns that reflect the city’s history as a centre of lacemaking to pieces exploring modern day issues surrounding migration. Ten new artworks are expected to be unveiled this summer.

For more traditional arts and crafts, head to the Museum for Lace and Fashion, which celebrates Calais’s industrial creative heritage dating back to the early 19th century. Here, you’ll see lacemaking demonstrations – the “Dentelle de Calais-Caudry” is a protected method of lacemaking – and displays of everything lacy in fashion, from ballgowns to lingerie. In partnership with the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris, the attraction is currently running an exhibition on the iconic works of fashion legend Yves Saint Laurent. Through YSL fashions, drawings, photos and videos, see how the designer used lace to reveal the power and sensuality of women’s bodies. Catch this classy collection of couture in Calais before 12 November when it will move to Paris.

Discover YSL’s captivation with lace in the Calais exhibition (Charles Delcourt)

So give Calais a chance. As new stages of the regeneration project are unveiled, the coming years will bring more creativity to the city, meaning that each time you pass through, you might just be missing out.

Travel essentials

Getting there

LeShuttle connects Folkestone with Calais in around 45 minutes, running up to four departures an hour. Various ferry services go from Dover to Calais in around 90 minutes.

Staying there

Le Cercle de Malines is a centrally located historic lacemakers’ mansion dating from 1884, now a B&B with five bedrooms. It offers breakfast served with homemade produce, access to a wellness centre, and modern communal areas including a terrace and garden; lecercledemalines.fr

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