Calais! - Writers Forum

GabrielleCornwell · 12-03-2007, 05:20 PM

So, well, I've looked on Wikipedia, but you never know if you can rely on it or not, so....is there anything special about Calais (France)? I'm including it in my story, Killer, since Gabrielle was born there. I jotted down a few things from Wiki, as mentioned above, but I wanted to see if there was anything more I should learn about.

I'll probably be asking a lot more stuff here, but just Calais for starters...

So, ermm, anything? *ducks*

lisajane · 12-03-2007, 08:38 PM

Try Wikitravel. It might have some more information on there about Calais rather than Wikipedia.

GabrielleCornwell · 12-03-2007, 11:14 PM

Thanks, lisajane, I'll go look. ^__^

SuperJac · 12-04-2007, 02:28 AM

Ah, Calais.. C'est un beau ville, mais je le n'aime pas parce que il pleut toujours là.

I've never been to Calais just to go to Calais - it's always just been a stop on the way to Coquelle for me. (Nearby Coquelle has the French side of le tunnel sous la Manche, so I imagine many people pass by Calais without bothering to look at it.)

What I do know from being there is that it is a very young city as far as cities in that region go. Not in years, of course! It just had the misfortune of being more or less leveled in the second world war, so there is very little in the way of old buildings to gawk at. It is more for business than tourism. It's an important port city as well as a hub for the railroads (and the ferries from Dover.) Most tourists who end up there are just there to shop. (Mostly les anglais, because French taxes are lower on certain items.) Some go for the beach but there are much better places for that.

You could probably find all that out by looking online, but I thought I'd share anyway. n__n I don't know much about everyday life in Calais, but if you have a question about French customs in general I might be able to help.

GabrielleCornwell · 12-04-2007, 04:10 PM

Merci beaucoup, monsieur SuperJac.

Just to let you know, that small piece of information helped me alot. Heh, thanks. You seem to know alot about France, so if I ever need any help, expect me to come running to you...

Mike C · 12-05-2007, 02:03 AM

Calais... a staging post. Nobody ever spends time there unless they're waiting for a ferry. A pretty soulless place, as I remember, with industrial estates mingling with hypermarkets on the outskirts. The hypermarkets are where you'll find all the Brits, stocking up on wine and tobacco which are WAY cheaper than in the UK.

GabrielleCornwell · 12-05-2007, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike C

Calais... a staging post. Nobody ever spends time there unless they're waiting for a ferry. A pretty soulless place, as I remember, with industrial estates mingling with hypermarkets on the outskirts. The hypermarkets are where you'll find all the Brits, stocking up on wine and tobacco which are WAY cheaper than in the UK.

Hmm...I see. Thanks, Mike C - it'll be a bit fun to include Calais into the story now that I know all this.

Swirl3d · 12-20-2007, 08:21 AM

There are ferries from the south coast of Britain to Calais, as well as the Eurotunnel.

At a party one evening, some friends and I (aged 18 at the time and living in London) decided we were going to go to France for the day. We got home about 3am, changed, left a note for our parents, took the first tube
to Victoria at 5am, jumped on a coach to Dover and got foot passenger tickets on a ferry. By 11am we were in Calais!

We spent the day eating crepes and playing dares on the locals (ie, alex has to propose to people in the street and try and get an acceptance). It was a bit industrial, and people seemed a little bemused by our touristic day trip, but it was fun. We liked watching the boats in the harbour, the little chugging tugs and the white sailed sailing boats, while the ferries honked their horns and the screaming seagulls swarmed around. We had really good moules marinere with nice white wine and fresh baguettes in a little cafe on the seafront, and were amazed by how cheap it was. Sorry to go off on one but thats my main experience of Calais!

GabrielleCornwell · 12-20-2007, 04:49 PM

Cool! Thanks everyone, I think I've got a vague picture of what Calais is like now. Thanks.

alanmt · 12-20-2007, 05:58 PM

Calais was held by the English for some time in the middle ages.

hobbish · 12-21-2007, 02:55 PM

I've been through it a few times. It was ugly.