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Opal Coast

Visit Gravelines

A star-shaped town designed by Vauban, and a black-and-white lighthouse at the mouth of the Aa

  • Vauban fortifications
  • Lighthouse
  • Petit-Fort-Philippe
  • Marina
Vauban's fortifications in Gravelines, their moats and their brick walls

Photo: Paul.schrepfer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Gravelines sits on the Aa, the river that separates Flanders from the Calaisis, and it's one of the best-preserved fortified towns in the north of France: seen from above, the town traces a star, like Neuf-Brisach in Alsace.

The ramparts and moats are intact and walkable. Three kilometres away, on the coast, the hamlet of Petit-Fort-Philippe adds a beach and a lighthouse: two towns in one, linked by the channel.

What to do in Gravelines?

  • Vauban's ramparts and moats
  • Petit-Fort-Philippe lighthouse
  • The Museum of Drawing and Original Print
  • Petit-Fort-Philippe beach
  • The marina
  • The channel and its promenade

3 activities to book

What activities to do in Gravelines?

Our favourite

For the star-shaped town

Le tour des remparts

Vauban's fortifications are explored on foot, along the ramparts and beside the moats.

1 h · on foot

For Petit-Fort-Philippe lighthouse

Le phare de Petit-Fort-Philippe

The black-and-white lighthouse can be climbed for the view over the beach and the harbour.

30 min · climb

For kayaking and paddleboarding on the Aa

Le kayak et le paddle sur l'Aa

The Parc des Rives de l'Aa watersports base rents kayaks and paddleboards on the lake.

1 h · rental

Our 3 restaurants

Where to eat in Gravelines?

Our favourite

To eat in Petit-Fort-Philippe

Au Beau Rivage

A restaurant on boulevard Léo Lagrange, on the beach side.

Restaurant · 7 boulevard Léo Lagrange

For seafood

Au Retour d'Islande

A fish and seafood restaurant in Gravelines.

Fish and seafood · Gravelines

For lunch or afternoon tea

Le Local

A restaurant-tearoom, place du Polder.

Restaurant-tearoom · place du Polder

Our 3 places to stay

Where to stay in Gravelines?

Our favourite

To sleep a few steps from the beach

Face à la Mer

A nine-room hotel-restaurant, a few steps from the Gravelines beach.

Hotel · Petit-Fort-Philippe

For a stop with parking

Brit Hotel Le Polder

A hotel with a garden, terrace and restaurant, a quarter of an hour's walk from the beach.

Hotel · Gravelines

To camp a hundred metres from the sea

Camping des Dunes

A campsite with mobile homes and pitches, a hundred metres from the seafront.

Campsite · Gravelines

Getting there and parking

By car, twenty minutes from both Calais and Dunkirk, on the A16.

By train, Gravelines station is on the Calais–Dunkirk line, with a limited timetable: the car remains the simplest option.

Information about the town

The fortifications still wrap the whole old town. The ramparts have been restored, the moats are filled with water, and the green spaces between them are well kept: it's an hour-long walk that circles the whole town, and it's free.

The Museum of Drawing and Original Print occupies the former château-arsenal. The main building is a powder magazine from 1742, joined by three Renaissance defensive casemates remodelled by Vauban. It's France's only museum devoted to printed works, with nearly twenty-one thousand pieces spanning the 15th century to today.

Petit-Fort-Philippe lighthouse, with its black-and-white spiral, is one of the very few lighthouses open to visitors on the North Sea coast. A hundred and four steps up, you see the mouth of the Aa, the beach, and the harbour.

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