Opal Coast
What to do on the Opal Coast?
Free clifftop walks, an aquarium for rainy days, and everything in between.
- Things to do
- 43
- Free
- 15
- Indoors
- 17
Photo: Jean-Pierre Bazard Jpbazard, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Opal Coast isn't a box-ticking destination: you won't be queuing outside a monument. What people come here for boils down to three things — a cliff facing England, a tide that uncovers kilometres of sand, and somewhere to shelter when the wind turns.
Here are the coast's things to do, from the Two Capes, designated Grand Site de France, to Calais skatepark. Pick by mood, and check the ‘free’ column: on this coast, the best things don't cost a penny.
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43 things to do
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Nature and hiking
The capes, the dunes, the bays, and everything you can walk
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Wind and water sports
What the wind and the tide make possible here, and almost nowhere else
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Museums and culture
Enough for a rainy day, and a few sunny ones too
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Heritage
Vauban, the forts, the belfries and a 1,400-square-metre crypt
Thrills
For when you want more than a walk along the promenade
Family-friendly
What works with kids, from the playground to the skatepark
Food-lovers
Herring, beer and the markets
Golf and horse riding
The links in the dunes, and the sand at low tide
Cycling
The Vélomaritime and the coastal loops
Wellness and shopping
Where to retreat on a grey day
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Nausicaá
The largest aquarium in Europe, and the only place on the coast where rain changes nothing
- Family-friendly
- When it rains
Escalles
Cap Blanc-Nez
A hundred and thirty metres of chalk facing England, and the finest view on the coast
- Nature and fresh air
- Free
Audinghen
Cap Gris-Nez
The closest point in France to England, and the strait's watchtower
- Nature and fresh air
- Free
Berck-sur-Mer
The Bay of the Authie
Seals, dunes and a bay that changes shape with every tide
- Nature and fresh air
- Free
Neufchâtel-Hardelot
The château d’Hardelot
A neo-Tudor manor house, English gardens and the only Elizabethan theatre in France
- Heritage and history
- Family-friendly
Calais
Calais Citadel
Vauban's ramparts turned into a park, open day and night
- Heritage and history
- Free
Boulogne-sur-Mer
The Basilica of Notre-Dame
A dome you can see from everywhere, and beneath it the largest crypt in France
- Heritage and history
- Free
Boulogne-sur-Mer
The port of Boulogne-sur-Mer
France's leading fishing port, facing the busiest strait in the world
- Free
- Food-lovers
Coquelles
Cité Europe
The shopping centre by the tunnel, the fallback for rainy days and last-minute shopping
- When it rains
- Family-friendly
Calais
Calais Skatepark
A skatepark with Olympic dimensions, right on the seafront
- Free
- Sporty
Audinghen
The Atlantic Wall Museum
A giant blockhouse and its railway gun, facing England
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
Audinghen
The Cran aux Œufs
A notch in the cliff, between the two capes, that almost no one knows about
- Nature and fresh air
- Free
Côte d'Opale
Tree-top adventure courses
Courses strung through the coastal pines, minutes from the beach
- Thrills
- Family-friendly
Côte d'Opale
Golf
Links courses in the dunes, inherited from the English, three hours from Paris
- Sporty
- Paid
Côte d'Opale
Longe-côte
Aquatic walking was born here, in Dunkirk, and has never really left
- Sporty
- Nature and fresh air
Côte d'Opale
Sea kayaking and paddleboarding
Seeing the cliffs from the water, the only way to see them whole
- Sporty
- Nature and fresh air
Côte d'Opale
Horse riding on the beaches
Miles of firm sand at low tide, and no one else in sight
- Sporty
- Nature and fresh air
Côte d'Opale
Cycling and La Vélomaritime
150 kilometres of EuroVelo 4, and the only truly sporting stretch of the route
- Sporty
- Nature and fresh air
Côte d'Opale
Sea fishing
France's leading fishing port, with trips open to everyone
- Nature and fresh air
- Sporty
Côte d'Opale
The craft breweries
A beer region before it was ever a wine region, and it’s open to visit
- Food-lovers
- When it rains
Côte d'Opale
Smoked herring
The fish that fed this coast for six centuries, and is still smoked today
- Food-lovers
- Heritage and history
Côte d'Opale
Birdwatching
One of the biggest migration corridors in Europe passes right overhead
- Nature and fresh air
- Free
Côte d'Opale
Diving
One of the densest wreck graveyards in the world, just a few miles offshore
- Sporty
- Thrills
Côte d'Opale
Sailing and catamaran
Wind almost every day, and watersports centres all along the coast
- Sporty
- Family-friendly
Côte d'Opale
Paintball and laser tag
The safe bet for groups, and plan B for rainy days
- Thrills
- Sporty
Ambleteuse
Fort d’Ambleteuse
A Vauban fort planted in the sand, circled by the tide twice a day
- Heritage and history
- Viewpoint
Montreuil-sur-Mer
The ramparts of Montreuil-sur-Mer
A whole walled town, twenty minutes from the sea it no longer touches
- Heritage and history
- Nature and fresh air
Calais
The Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode
Ten-tonne looms, running, in the very factory where they’ve always stood
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
Boulogne-sur-Mer
The Château-Musée
A 13th-century castle, and inside it, masks from Alaska
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
Dunkerque
The Musée Portuaire
A tobacco warehouse, a tall ship, a barge and a lightship
- Heritage and history
- Family-friendly
Calais
The Musée des Beaux-Arts of Calais
The museum that tells how Rodin arrived at The Burghers of Calais
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
Côte d'Opale
Thalassotherapy and spas
The only programme on the coast that improves when it rains
- When it rains
- Paid
Dunkerque
The Saint-Éloi belfry
Fifty-eight metres of brick, fifty bells, and the best view of the city
- Heritage and history
- Viewpoint
Dunkerque
The Dunkirk 1940 Museum
The evacuation of 340,000 men, told from the very place it was commanded
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
Gravelines
The Vauban fortifications of Gravelines
A star-shaped town, water-filled moats, and a full walk on foot
- Heritage and history
- Nature and fresh air
Gravelines
The lighthouse of Petit-Fort-Philippe
A black-and-white spiral, one of the few North Sea lighthouses you can climb
- Heritage and history
- Viewpoint
Gravelines
The Musée de l’Estampe
The only French museum devoted to printed art, in a 1742 powder magazine
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
Bray-Dunes
The Dune Marchand nature reserve
Eighty-three protected hectares, holding half the plant species of Hauts-de-France
- Nature and fresh air
- Family-friendly
Berck-sur-Mer
The seals of the Authie estuary
Two colonies visible year-round, at low tide, straight from the sand
- Nature and fresh air
- Family-friendly
Côte d'Opale
Go-karting
Three tracks on the coast, two outdoors and one covered
- Thrills
- Family-friendly
Côte d'Opale
Sand yachting
Firm sand, a westerly wind, and two hours before low tide
- Thrills
- Sporty
Boulogne-sur-Mer
The Maison de la Beurière
An 1870 fisherman’s house, the only one left standing in its street
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
Boulogne-sur-Mer
The Casa San Martín
A piece of Argentina in Boulogne, and a national hero who died here in 1850
- Heritage and history
- When it rains
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Frequently asked questions
What can you do on the Opal Coast when it rains?
17 of the things to do on this page are indoors: Nausicaá, The château d’Hardelot, The Basilica of Notre-Dame, Cité Europe, The Atlantic Wall Museum, The craft breweries, Paintball and laser tag, The Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode, The Château-Musée, The Musée Portuaire, The Musée des Beaux-Arts of Calais, Thalassotherapy and spas, The Dunkirk 1940 Museum, The Musée de l’Estampe, Go-karting, The Maison de la Beurière and The Casa San Martín. Nausicaá is the most popular on rainy days during school holidays: book ahead and aim for a quieter day.
What can you do for free on the Opal Coast?
15 of the things to do on this page are free, and they're often the best: Cap Blanc-Nez, Cap Gris-Nez, The Bay of the Authie, Calais Citadel, The Basilica of Notre-Dame, The port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais Skatepark, The Cran aux Œufs, Cycling and La Vélomaritime, Birdwatching, Fort d’Ambleteuse, The ramparts of Montreuil-sur-Mer, The Vauban fortifications of Gravelines, The Dune Marchand nature reserve and The seals of the Authie estuary. On this coast, the best things don't cost a penny.
What can you do on the Opal Coast with the family?
Nausicaá, The Bay of the Authie, The château d’Hardelot, Calais Citadel, The port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Cité Europe, Calais Skatepark, Tree-top adventure courses, Sailing and catamaran, The Musée Portuaire, The Vauban fortifications of Gravelines, The lighthouse of Petit-Fort-Philippe, The Dune Marchand nature reserve, The seals of the Authie estuary, Go-karting, Sand yachting and The Maison de la Beurière are suitable for children. Nausicaá for a rainy half-day, the Laby'Parc and Calais skatepark for the outdoors, the Bay of the Authie for the seals. The Two Capes work well with the family too, as long as you're prepared for the wind.
What's the one must-do on the Opal Coast?
The Two Capes, Blanc-Nez and Gris-Nez, designated Grand Site de France. It's free, it's always open, and it's the landscape that gave the coast its name. If you've only got time for one outing, make it this one — and if you've only got time for one on a bad-weather day, make it Nausicaá.