Boulogne-sur-Mer has two faces: the busy fishing port down by the Liane estuary, the largest in France, and the Haute-Ville on the hill above, enclosed by thirteenth-century ramparts that you can walk all the way around. The belfry stands in the upper town, attached to the town hall, its lower part dating from the thirteenth century and the upper stages added later. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO, symbols of the freedom of medieval towns, which rang their bells to call citizens to arms, to work, or to assembly. You can climb it for a view over the rooftops, the port and the Channel.
Nearby, the basilica of Notre-Dame, with its huge dome, was built in the nineteenth century on the site of an older church that had been a famous place of pilgrimage. Below it lies a vast crypt, one of the largest in France. The château, a medieval castle at the corner of the ramparts, houses a museum with an unexpected collection of Egyptian and Greek antiquities.
Boulogne has always looked across the water. Julius Caesar may have sailed from here to Britain, and the Emperor Claudius certainly launched his invasion from the port, where a Roman lighthouse once stood. In 1803 to 1805, Napoleon gathered his Grande Armée in a vast camp around the town, preparing to invade England. The invasion never happened, but the Colonne de la Grande Armée, a tall column on the hill north of the town, commemorates it.
The riding along the Côte d'Opale is magnificent. The D940 runs north from Boulogne to Wimereux, Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez, along cliffs and dunes, with views across the Channel to the white cliffs of Dover on clear days. The road climbs and dips, with open bends and strong winds. Summer weekends bring heavy traffic; spring and autumn mornings are quieter.
Boulogne has fuel, garages and plenty of restaurants. Eat fish: the local speciality is fresh herring, grilled or smoked, and the market on the quays sells the day's catch. Nausicaá, the national sea centre, is one of the largest aquariums in Europe if you want to spend a rainy hour.