Boulogne for the weekend

Best things? The Saturday market and fresh seafood at Aux Pecheurs d'Etaples. Always good - every time we've been. I love the castle area and the Vole Hole.

Don't dismiss Boulogne - it makes a great weekend break destination all by itself!

Quick Tips:

Go walk along the coast. It's free and very attractive.

Best Way To Get Around:

It's small enough that being on foot is enough. You'll need a car to visit the surrounding area, though, which is well worth it, as there are some great walks along the coast to be done.

We've stayed at this hotel before and liked it, hence the return. For starters, they have Victor the miner bird, who remains in residence by reception. The staff remembered us, and we were ushered upstairs to our perfectly pleasant room. The warmth of the room came as a nice change from the outdoors, though, as it turns out, the radiator was broken, and we couldn't turn it off either. Breakfast here is a buffet/continental affair, but as it's not included, you can choose not to have it if that's not your bag. Basically, it's small, friendly, fairly cheap, and very central - just what's required.

Check out their website here for up to date information.

It's a restaurant linked to a fishmongers - one of two run by the local fishing cooperative. Can't imagine there being a better way to eat fresh seafood - which is what we did and always do. We split a smoked salmon starter and then one large seafood platter between the two of us, washed down with plenty of cold Muscadet - they have a special offer on for such things. Then there was glace/sorbet for me and an apple-in-pastry thing for him before the obligatory coffees. We weren't finished all that late, as service was a tad overattentive. I've eaten here many times, and it's consistently good. Children are welcome.

This was a restaurant recommended by the hotel manager. Having no real reason other than my cynicism to doubt him and having not been inspired by anywhere else, we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and try it. Which was a good thing - because it was good. A small backstreet place, quite modern, but after a quiet start, all the tables were full of French people (a good sign). The menu was small but reasonably priced. I had smoked salmon with aubergine caviar, followed by pave de rumsteak with a pepper sauce and then a fab mi-cuit de chocolat with creme caramel ice cream to finish. Hubby had a homemade foie gras terrine and then magret to canard, followed by... I forget. Yummeee!

The wine was red and lovely, the muscat with dessert also, and the digestifs downstairs in the cellar bar were very nice indeed. Nice to be able to retire for coffee, brandy, and a cigar without bothering diners or having to go on to another bar/back to the hotel. All in all, it was a resounding success, I feel.

This is one of the café/bars that is actually open on a cold Sunday at lunchtime. It's right on the central town square. We've been before on an afternoon and liked it. It serves large portions of reasonably priced food: salads, pizza, etc., as well as some local specialties.

I had a large salad nordique, and there was a flamenkeuche pizza thing for him – which, obviously, I had to follow with sorbet whilst he ate apple pie. It was a nice, substantial, and filling lunch for very little money in a nice, warm, and snuggly place, which would be why we went back there after last time I suppose. When we went with the kids, they were given these fab flashing LED badges that clip on with magnets - which were unexpected and a huge hit!

It's also good for those just after a beer or coffee and has outdoor seating for better weather.

This is the huge aquarium place there. Biggest in Europe, UNESCO awards - that kind of thing. For once - it lived up - and 45E and 3 hours later, I felt like we'd had our money's worth - all of us. Sharks, tropical life, even a diver doing some maintenance - all very "Finding Nemo". Our youngest loved the jellyfish - in a large glass tube-type tank, all glowing ultraviolet - very impressive. There's even an outdoor section with seals/sea lions, which you can peek into from out on the beach, which is a nice touch.

I think it's best for families with kids though. It's a very good way of spending time when the weather is less than perfect. Oh, and apparently the restaurant is also very good.

This is our fave bar in Boulogne. It's tiny, snuggly, warm, and the beer there - Angelus - is local and fantastic. The staff are friendly but not intrusive, and I could cheerfully spend an entire afternoon here. There are seats outside for better weather, which is just as well since there's not a lot of room inside. They also don't mind children here.

This market is centred in Place Dalton on Saturday mornings and sprawls up some of the side streets there, too. There are the usual fruit and veggie stalls from larger producers, but also lots of tiny little stands from local people selling produce of their own gardens and small holdings, which is interesting, with everything from little jars of homemade conserves, trays of eggs, and vegetables to prepared meat, but all in small quantities. Our favourite stall is the one that sells twists of garlic, right by the church, which we stock up on every time!

If you're there around lunchtime, there's also a few fast-food-type stalls, by which I mean one doing rotisserie meat the locals seem to be buying for lunch and one with huge pans of paella. However, the trade-off with being there early is that it's too early to be eating lunch!

Get there early to avoid the crowds, as there's not a lot of space between stalls and traffic jams build up easily, which can be frustrating, and this also means that you don't see as much of the stalls through all the people.

Boulogne is just a nice place to walk around. There's the lower town area with all the normal shops, and where the market is held on Saturday mornings. Then there's the sea front, the hill up to the castle, the castle walls, and the old town within the walls with bars, restaurants, and little antique shops. There is far more to see than your average tourist passing through would ever guess.