Top 6 most beautiful beaches on the Opal Coast

No more of that seasonal gloom — with spring on the way, we’re itching to get out and about. So let’s head for the coast and all it has to offer, to breathe in the sea air and recharge our batteries. Today we’re off for a walk along the most beautiful beaches of the Opal Coast.

Les Hemmes de Marck

Far from the busy seaside resorts, this huge stretch of fine sand between Calais and Gravelines is a haven of nature and tranquillity. At low tide, the sea pulls back for miles, giving a real sense of endlessness. A footpath crossing the dunes and watergangs promises lovely encounters with the wildlife that has made its home here. And it’s also from here that you can spot one of France’s last remaining metal lighthouses, the Walde lighthouse.

Sangatte

Do you know Descenderie beach? A few kilometres from Calais, this spot is a haven for windsport lovers. A long stretch of sand runs for several kilometres up to the first cliffs of Cap Blanc-Nez. There, the pebble shore is full of fossils and the wild coastline opens up before you. Turn your head the other way and a different scene appears: rows of breakwater posts stretching for hundreds of metres, though they do nothing to spoil the wild character of this gem of the Opal Coast.

Wissant

Between Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez, Wissant unrolls a magnificent beach of nearly 12 km of fine sand. It’s a paradise for horse riders, sand yachters, windsurfers, kitesurfers and walkers alike. There’s no shortage of choice either: dunes, marshland, sandy beach and of course the old customs officers’ path, a stretch of the GR 120 that promises an exceptional hike for the more adventurous. The coastline is unspoilt, and many migratory species fly over the capes. Plenty of them even nest in the chalky cliff faces.

Audresselles and Ambleteuse

A quintessential fishing village, Audresselles is proud of its age-old tradition of flobart fishing, the boat that’s so characteristic of the Opal Coast. The beach is ‘split’ by a line of rocks. That gives you the choice between a wilder side, where you might spot the seal colonies, the famous residents of this stretch of coast. The southern side of the beach, running towards Ambleteuse and its famous fort, offers an almost surreal landscape, especially at high tide when the fort is surrounded by water. A stretch of coast where the many rocks let shore fishers gather mussels and other shellfish!

Wimereux

One of the prettiest seaside resorts on the coast. With its stunning beach lined with picturesque blue-and-white beach huts, and its seafront of Belle Époque villas, Wimereux offers an exceptional setting for romantics and lovers of the Anglo-Norman style. The seafront promenade is, in fact, one of the finest walks on the coast.

Ault/Mers-les-Bains

Here we’re right on the edge of Picardy, where the Opal Coast gives way to the Côte d’Albâtre. Sheer cliffs with a long pebble beach stretched out at their feet, perfect for birdwatching. At low tide, a wide band of fine sand gives everyone the freedom to settle in and admire, here too, the facades of the seafront villas, which mix several architectural styles, as if to show off the flair and originality of the people who built them.