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Étaples-sur-Mer

The Étaples Herring King festival 2026

14 and 15 November 202633rd edition

Three tonnes of smoked herring in one weekend, right on the quayside

  • Free entry
  • Mid-November
  • Since 1994
  • Plus Belles Fêtes de France
A cook turning herrings over the embers
Photo: Clupea_harengus.jpg : Dezidor derivative work: Regi51 ( talk ), source, CC BY 3.0

33rd edition

from 14 to 15 November 2026

At the departmental harbour, La Canche car park. In 2025 the festival received the national « Plus Belles Fêtes de France » label.

Where
Étaples-sur-Mer departmental harbour, La Canche car park
Price
Free entry. Tastings paid.
Crowds
Nearly 10,000 visitors
Check the dates on etaples-sur-mer.fr

In November, herring head up towards the North Sea, passing the Opal Coast on the way. Every fishing harbour along the coast celebrates it, and Étaples has done so since 1994.

This isn't a re-enacted folk festival: volunteers really do smoke and cure the fish on the quayside, over the two days. Three tonnes of herring go through the smokehouse, and a thousand kippers are prepared in advance.

Hareng saur, kipper, bouffi: not the same thing

  • The hareng saur Salted, then cold-smoked over several days. Firm and strongly flavoured, it's eaten in fillets with oil or in a warm potato salad.
  • The kipper Herring split open, gutted, salted and smoked for a few hours only. Milder and softer, it's cooked in a pan or the oven.
  • The bouffi Smoked whole, without being split open, and only very briefly. The lightest of the three, and the hardest to keep.
The herring grill and the festival crowd

What's on

  • The smokehouse set up on the quay, smoking away in full view
  • Herring tastings in every form
  • Festival village: old trades, crafts, traditional games
  • Sea shanties and folk music
  • Maritime heritage and fishing culture
Herrings on the grill during the festival, in Étaples

Getting there

The departmental harbour sits on the Canche, at the entrance to Étaples coming from Le Touquet. Parking is on the La Canche car park, which also hosts the festival itself: arrive early, or park in town and walk the rest of the way.

By train, Étaples–Le Touquet station is around a ten-minute walk from the harbour.

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