Property guide to Pas-de-Calais

The closest French department to Britain, but worlds away in atmosphere, our property guide to Pas-de-Calais offers multiple good reasons for a property purchase.

Think about buying property in France and you’ll probably find yourself dreaming of a Mediterranean villa, an Alpine chalet, or maybe a stone farmhouse in the vineyards. But let me plant another idea. If you’re not a fan of extreme temperatures, prefer the seaside to snowy slopes, and relish a relaxed blend of countryside and culture, take a look at Pas-de-Calais.

Close to the UK – authentic France

Closest French department to Britain, the port of Calais is barely 20 miles (33km) from the south coast of England, easily accessed by ferry or road and rail tunnel. Arriving from further afield? There are excellent rail links to Paris and London from Lille, just across the departmental border in the Nord, as well as a good network of provincial train lines and fast roads leading to Belgium, the Netherlands and all points French.

Whatever indoor or outdoor activity you’re into, with the exception of mountain sports, you’ll almost certainly find it here. And forget any preconceptions about the industrial north. Many first-time visitors are surprised to find large areas of rural landscape punctuated with small villages and hamlets, as well as a variety of heritage towns, each with its own USP. Rural without being remote. Expect wide sandy beaches and a rolling farmland, lush river valleys and tranquil woodland. Even the former coal mining area in the east of the department is now full of green spaces and repurposed industrial sites.

Beside the Opal Coast

Dubbed the Côte d’Opale for its opalescent light, the coastline of Pas-de-Calais begins just north of Calais and undulates southwards for some 120km to Berck-Plage near the estuary of Authie river. Far more than just a transit town, Calais is well worth a stopover to visit the Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode, the Lace and Fashion Museum that celebrates the town’s signature craft. Enjoy a ride on the extraordinary mechanical Dragon and take the lift to the viewing gallery on the Town Hall bell tower, high above Rodin’s famous statue of The Burghers of Calais.

South of Calais, the coast road winds past the emblematic twin headlands of Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez – jointly awarded Grand Site de France status – and through the fishing villages of Audresselles and Ambleteuse. If you like hiking or biking, cliff walks or sand dunes, stop at the Maison du Site des Deux Caps for inspiration, bike hire and local produce. Stroll the promenade at Wimereux in front of colourful Belle Epoque villas and in Boulogne-sur-Mer, meet a wealth of deep-sea creatures at the renowned Nausicaa sea life centre.

Le Touquet’s Art Deco market

Despite having the sea in common, the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer couldn’t be more different from its near neighbour, Le Touquet-Paris Plage. Buy a home near the coast here and you have a heritage town with a fascinating hilltop museum and bustling quayside fish market on one hand; a chic seaside resort with flamboyant Art Deco properties and outstanding sports facilities on the other. Love a wide-open sandy beach? Le Touquet and neighbouring Hardelot have two of the best. Go sand-yachting, sailing, or maybe enjoy an exhilarating excursion on horseback.

Countryside delights

Saint-Omer

A large area of the Pas-de-Calais shoreline forms the western boundary of the Regional Natural Park of the Opal Coast Headlands and Marshes – le PNR des Caps et Marais d’Opale. Turn your back on the sea and the PNR rolls inland with vast fields of cereals eventually giving way to the Art & History Town of Saint-Omer.

The Marais Audomarois on the edge of Saint-Omer is a tranquil area guaranteed to soothe both body and soul, whether you choose to explore on foot or take a guided boat excursion from the Maison du Marais visitor centre. A UNESCO-listed Biosphere renowned for its market gardening, it is rich in rich in flora, fauna and a traditional way of life. Don’t be surprised to see the postman delivering by boat to a handful of island homes.

Nestled up against the border with Belgium, the area around Saint-Omer has a distinct Flemish feel in its architecture, customs and cuisine, which includes many recipes using locally brewed beer. It’s more than a century since the end of the Great War in 1918, but the sacrifices of a generation are remembered here at cemeteries small and large, representing the fallen of many nations in some of the most intense fighting of the conflict.

From Saint-Omer, it’s barely 50km to Hesdin, a historic market town on the southern boundary of the department in the heart of the Vallées d’Opale. A peaceful agricultural area bisected by seven river valleys, its many small hamlets include Azincourt, scene of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and home to an interactive museum.

Montreuil-sur-Mer

Flowing through the Vallées d’Opale to Le Touquet, the Canche river passes beneath the fortified hilltop town of Montreuil-sur-Mer, renowned for its food shops and restaurants as well as a substantial citadel, rampart walks and cobbled streets.

Bethune, Arras, Lens

Furthest away from the Channel coast, the eastern area of Pas-de-Calais around Béthune, Arras and Lens offers a wide range of heritage sites and cultural attractions, including one of France’s leading art museums, Louvre-Lens. With more than 200 works taken from the Louvre in Paris, this purpose-built gallery stands at the heart of the former mining basin at Lens, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Here pitheads and slagheaps have been given new life as museums, sports facilities and community hubs in an outstanding example of industrial regeneration.

Also recognised by UNESCO are the belfries of Béthune, Arras and Douai, listed amongst 23 bell towers across Northern France and Belgium and regarded as symbols of local freedom since the Middle Ages. Like a mix of architectural styles? Then look out for Art Deco treasures such as Lens railway station; the swimming pool at Bruay-la-Buissière; and the flamboyant houses around Béthune.

Arras

Buy property near Arras and shopping will take on a whole new perspective as you browse the stalls in the two vast market squares. Grand’Place and Place des Héros. Fringed with arcades and Flemish gables, they were painstakingly rebuilt in Baroque style after the devastation of World War I. Take time to reflect too amongst the sobering beauty of Great War cemeteries and memorials that honour the sacrifices of many nations here on the Western Front.

Wherever you choose to buy in this cosmopolitan corner of Northern France, you are never short of places to go and things to do, all within easy reach of the UK, Paris, Belgium and the rest of Europe. Now isn’t that a location worth thinking about?

By Gillian Thornton, one of the UK’s leading travel writers and a regular writer for The Good Life France Magazine and website.