Dunkirk

Foremost amongst Dunkirk attractions are its Musée Portuaire or port museum, where you’ll find compelling displays on the town’s rich maritime history – among other things, this was the hometown of the naval commander and privateer Jean Bart. 

 

One of the best areas of the Musée is its ‘floating museum’ of three boats, two of them historic monuments: the three-mastered Duchesse Anne, France’s only tall ship to be open to the public, and the Sandettie lightship, which used to warn sailors about nearby, sandbanks. There’s also a barge, the Guilde.

 

And then of course there’s the beach: Dunkirk’s sandy 7km-long Malo-les-Bains – famous as the spot from which 300,000 Allied troops were evacuated during Operation Dynamo retreat in 1940 – is popular among kite-flyers and sand-yachters as well as those who love to simply stroll and relax by the sea. Belle Epoque villas and charming restaurants and cafés face the waters.

 

 

Other must-sees in Dunkirk are the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which includes works from the Flemish, French, Dutch and Italian schools, plus a room dedicated to Jean Bart, and a small natural history section. And the town hosts a lively program of events throughout the year, including the Dunkirk carnival each January and Feburary. Unique among French festivals, this famously raucous fishermen’s celebration with 17th-century origins features outlandish costumes, colourful parades and even herring-throwing!

 

 

Did you know? The Director Christopher Nolan set up his cameras in Dunkirk. Returning to the exact spot, where Operation Dynamo (World War two) took place to recreate those fateful events of 1940… 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delicious souvenir to take home: the tasty pure butter waffles from Dunkirk