Boulogne-sur-Mer or Boulogne is a city and port in the Côte d'Opale region of Hauts-de-France. It is the second largest place on the Cote D'Opale after Calais. It is the estuary of the Liane river.
The city's origins are as a medieval port protected by a castle up on the hill, which stands to this day, now a museum. After extensive allied bombing during World War II the city and the port were rebuilt post-war thus creating what is now known as the Old Town (inside the castle walls which largely escaped the destruction) and the New Town at the riverside and on the seafront.
Today Boulogne is the principal fishing port for all of France, where fish is auctioned, frozen, salted, smoked and processed for distribution across the whole country in the commercial port district.
The place used to be a very touristy place, and having once had a direct ferry service from Dover and Folkestone, it used to be popular with British day-trippers and, later, booze cruisers. After the opening of the Channel Tunnel, however, ferry services were reduced and then stopped altogether. Since then various companies have tried and failed to run profitable ferry services.
Nevertheless though not as swamped with tourists as it once was, Boulogne remains popular with visitors, mainly British and Belgian, as it remains only 30 minutes' drive from Calais, 20 from the Channel Tunnel, and is still considered by many to be prettier and more interesting than Calais.
The A16 motorway passes round the back of the city - junctions 32, 31, 30 and 29 are all for various parts of Boulogne. Ample parking is available at the riverside in the New Town. The old main road from Calais, the D940, enters Boulogne from the north, on the coast, and leaves towards Le Touquet, through the suburb of Outreau. The N41 from St Omer enters Boulogne from the east.
There are direct trains come from Calais Ville (30 min), Calais Fréthun (for the TGV and Eurostar - 25 min), Le Touquet (20 min on a fast train), Lille (1 hour), Amiens (75 min), and Paris (2 hours).
Boulogne is the centre of an extensive bus network reaching all of its outlying suburbs and satellite towns. There is also a reliable taxi service.
Boulogne is a 30-minute drive from the Port of Calais.
Sometimes also called the Upper Town. The walled old town contains the castle, basilica, belfry and town hall surrounded by many interesting narrow streets, shops, and cafes. It is located about 800 m up the hill, east of the harbour, and contains:
Or sometimes called the Lower Town. This is the modern Boulogne at the riverside and sea-front, which contains:
Most of the restaurants are in and around the Place Dalton in the New Town, though there are a few up in the Old Town as well. The most famous and long established is Hamiot's.
There are many excellent bars in both the Old and New Towns.
There's a small Ibis in the City Centre, and most of the rest of the hotels are small privately owned establishments out towards the beach.
There is also a youth hostel (auberge de jeunesse) opposite the main station (Gare de Boulogne), which is open year round and offers accommodation for around €16.
Just outside of town is the Column of the Grande Armée, a park where a (somewhat presumptive) monument commemorates Napeleon's successful invasion of England.
2nd-order administrative division
Primary administrative division