Opal Coast (1 final spot)

Overview

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One of our most beloved trips, and back on the calendar for the first time since 2017 after 6 amazing trips! The beautiful Côte d’Opale, with its magnificent coastal landscape, begins just two hours outside of Brussels. This part of the French coastline received its name for its bright iridescent light. It stretches out about 120 kilometers from the Belgian border to Picardy. The 40 kilometers between the cities of Calais and Boulogne sur Mer are the most spectacular, and that is exactly the part of the country that we are going to discover. Besides wonderful wide beaches (with low tide), rolling hills with yellow flowers, and lovely little towns, it is known for two spectacular viewpoints, the Cap Blanc Nez and the Cap Griz Nez. You can even wave to England from there! We top this with visits to the harbour cities of Dunkirk and Calais, the Vauban-walled town of Gravelines, the resort town Wimereux with its many Art Nouveau houses, and the historic city of Boulogne sur Mer. This is truly a superb day out!

You can also join an optional 15km hike from Cap Blanc Nez to Cap Griz Nez, a true classic! It leads over both capes, along the coast, over the beach, through a nice resort town and rural roads.

Your trip in pictures

Just have a look at these stunning images.

Our first stop is in Dunkerque (or Dunkirk or Duinkerken), France's third largest port that is just across the French-Belgian border. This harbour town is alive 24/7 due to the many UK-bound ferries that depart here. Its history goes back far over 1,000 years, but in particular the amazing evacuation of over 300,000 British soldiers in 1940, when the town was completely surrounded by German forces, has put this city in the history books. During Operation Dynamo every possible vessel was sent from England to France to pick up the trapped soldiers, whereas Hitler could have easily destroyed them. | by Velvet (own work), via Wikimedia Commons

The Vauban-walled town of Gravelines, a true hidden gem between Dunkirk and Calais | by LimoWreck (own work)via Wikimedia Commons

The Calais ferry harbour is connected with Dover Harbour by dozens of crossings per day. | © Ralf Gosch - Shutterstock

Our next stop is another major harbour city, Calais, even though it lies just 30 kilometers down the coast. From here many ferries leave for England and of course the city is known for the Eurotunnel that links the two countries by a 50,5km tunnel that cost almost 10 billion pounds, about 2 times the initially estimated amount. The City Hall of Calais has a magnificent Belfry.

The beautiful opera theatre of Calais | by Bodoklecksel (own work), via Wikimedia Commons

We will make stop at Calais beach, which is right next to the ferry harbour. During our stay at least a handful of ships will enter and leave the harbour. | by Tohma (own work), via Wikimedia Commons

Our next destination is the spectacular Cap Blanc Nez

The Cap Blanc Nez towers about the Channel. It consists of pure white chalk. | © Maelick - Shutterstock

The Dover Patrol monument at Cap Blanc Nez, a reminder of their work during the First World War. | © sofifoto - Shutterstock

From the beach towards the village of Wissant you will have a superb view on the Cap Blanc Nez. | © Aleksey Stemmer - Shutterstock

The 15km hike along the Opal Coast leads you along the coast between the two capes | © Mayu Forest - Shutterstock

Keep on walking over lovely walking paths. | © Christophe Cappelli - Shutterstock

Not only the coast is beautiful, also inland the Opal Coast region is spectacular with its soft rolling hills. | © ID-VIDEO - Shutterstock

Great panoramic views are waiting for everyone in our group, hikers and non-hikers. | © ID-Video - Shutterstock

Opal Coast Cap Blanc Nez y Massimo Santi shutterstock_1120362035

Lush green hills, flowers, steep cliffs, a blue sea and a bright sky. This is the Opal Coast. | © ID-VIDEO shutterstock_1255557691

The Cap Griz nez consists of grey clay, limestone and sandstone | © Guido Vermeulen-Perdaen - Shutterstock

The yellow flower fields can be found all around you in Spring. These can be found close to the Cap Griz Nez | © FilipPhotography Shutterstock

The best chance for seeing the famous and iconic White Cliffs of Dover is on the Cap Griz Nez, the shortest distance to England.

Everyone will visit the lovely coastal resort town of Wimereux. | © sofifoto - Shutterstock

There are countless lovely colourful art nouveau houses throughout this town. | by Michel Wal (own work), via Wikimedia Commons

Just another row of houses. | © Yuriy Chertok - Shutterstock

Boulogne sur Mer is an old historic town and important harbour city (largest fishing harbour of France). We will end our tour here with a little walk and dinner. | © Christophe Cappelli - Shutterstock

The Boulogne castle is situated inside the enwalled Old Town. | © Richard Majlinder -Shutterstock

Program

As with all Expat Clup trips, our program for today is carefully designed with realistic driving times. There will, of course, be enough time to visit all destinations, but since we travel on small routes along the coast, much depends on traffic conditions. The past six trips all worked out really well, but please keep in mind the below schedule is only a rough indication as times may change during the day.

07h00 Departure Brussels
09h15 Dunkirk
10h30 Gravelines
12h00 Calais
14h15 Cap Blanc Nez
15h30 Cap Griz Nez
16h00 Wimereux
18h30 Boulogne sur Mer
20h30 Departure to Brussels
23h30 Arrival Brussels

Alternative hiking program
The bus, program and route are virtually the same as the regular program. You will be travelling with the group to Calais, but instead of spending time there (with lunch), the bus will bring you to Cap Blanc Nez. After you walk for about 4 hours (including resting), the bus will pick you up again at Cap Griz Nez. You will rejoin the group in Wimereux where you will still have some time to enjoy this historic little resort town.

12h00 – Calais
12h15 – Cap Blanc Nez
14h00 – Wissant
16h30 – Cap Griz Nez
17h00 – Wimereux

Note that as group of hikers you will need to navigate to Cap Griz Nez on your own, but rest assured it’s not difficult as you can virtually always see the final destination. You will need to take water, lunch and snacks with you. You need to be fit for this hike; it’s medium difficulty.

Transportation

Today we leave early so we can make the best of the day. We depart from Place Schuman at 07h00 by luxury 4* coach with reclining seats. You can also get on board at Metro Yser, Metro Simonis, Basilique or Basilix Shopping Center. We know this is early, but we simply need the time to visit various spots along the coast and give you enough time to relax and enjoy the views and touristic places. The bus has an on-board toilet, a DVD system with flatscreens, air conditioning and comfortable chairs with extra leg space. Since this day is rather long, we’ll bring two professional drivers, in line with EU regulations.