Visit Dunkirk

What to do in Dunkirk?

• Saint-Éloi belfry
• The beach and sea wall of Malo-les-Bains
• The harbour museum and its boats
• The Dunkirk 1940 — Operation Dynamo museum
• The town hall and its carillon
• The carnival, from January to March

3 activities to book

What activities to do in Dunkirk?

Our 3 restaurants

Where to eat in Dunkirk?

Our 3 places to stay

Where to stay in Dunkirk?

Getting there and parking

By car, forty minutes from Calais on the A16, an hour and a quarter from Boulogne-sur-Mer.

By train, Dunkirk station is a ten-minute walk from the belfry, and the town's bus network is free.

Information about the town

The Saint-Éloi belfry was built around 1440 on the site of a watchtower. It stands 58 metres tall, is built of brick, has been a listed historic monument since 1840 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005, under the belfries of Belgium and France. It carries fifty bells and can be climbed — the best viewpoint in town. Saint-Éloi church, to which it was attached around 1450, burned down in 1558 — only the tower survived, which is why it now stands apart from the church.

The harbour museum occupies a former warehouse on the quay. It tells the story of the port, and it doesn't stop at the building: three ships can be visited quayside, including the square-rigged three-master Duchesse Anne, launched in 1901, and the lightship Sandettié. It's the visit that works best with children.

The Dunkirk 1940 museum is housed in the casemates of Bastion 32, built in 1874, which served as the headquarters of French and Allied forces during the Battle of Dunkirk. Over a 350-metre route, it traces the evacuation of more than 340,000 soldiers from the Dunkirk pocket in May and June 1940. Most of the objects on display were found on site — on the beach, in the dunes, or in the sea.

Malo-les-Bains is Dunkirk's seaside resort, absorbed into the town but still recognisable: a sea wall, colourful beach huts, and Belle Époque villas along the seafront. The beach is wide and flat, and the wind makes sand yachting possible almost all year round.