Wissant, France
Created | Updated Jul 9, 2008
Wissant, a small French village, is situated near Calais, just across the English Channel from Dover in England.
The area around Wissant is some kind of a holiday paradise for lovers of cement, concrete and military history. It's hard to throw a stone without hitting a bunker. The coastline was part of the Atlantic Wall. The Nazis expected the Allies to land their invasion there. Some of the bunkers, however, have been made up for sight-seeing and guided tours. So is the Batterie Todt - the biggest bunker in the area. It is situated very near to Wissant and was named after the construction specialist Todt.
The village has about four or five restaurants and bars. You won't, however, find amusing signs such as I'm at work – not on an escape, because this fact is commonly known. Advice: relax and enjoy yourself – you are on holiday and not at work. Dinner time is about 7pm and closing time about 11pm.
If you are a real party person, you should go to the Sunwave-Bar, situated directly on the promenade. On a good day it is open until 11.30pm. They have billiards, country and western music and a very big window overlooking the sea.
At Le Dauphin (round the corner from the dolphin monument, on the promenade) there is a large TV screen – just in case you want to watch football or the Tour de France.
There are three chip shops in the town; however, the residents of Wissant tend to associate chips with the words 'small', 'shrivelled', 'fatty' and 'cold' when they talk about good chips.
The local campsite is deceptively large, so you may have to walk a bit to find a good spot. The men's toilet and shower facilities are reasonable; women will probably prefer to use the sanitary facilities situated next to the entrance.
Boulognes-sur-Mer is close-by and worth a visit.