Côte d'Opale
.JPG)
The Opal Coast (Template:Native name {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; Template:Native name) is a coastal region in northern France on the English Channel, popular with tourists.
Geography
The Côte d'Opale is a coastal region in North Central France, in the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. It extends over Template:Convert of French coast between the Belgian border and the border with Picardy. This coastline faces the English Channel and the North Sea, and is situated directly opposite the chalk cliffs of southeast England, which at the closest point are only Template:Convert away.
The Côte d'Opale is composed of many varied landscapes including beaches, dunes, swamps, estuaries and cliffs. The coast is marked by the presence of two large promontories situated between Calais and Boulogne: the Cap Gris-Nez (literally "grey nose cape" in English), reaching an elevation of Template:Convert above sea level, and the Cap Blanc-Nez (literally "white nose cape" in English), which reaches Template:Convert. These capes are the closest points to England on the entire French coast.
Cities
Famous seaside resorts
From south to north:
- Berck
- Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
- Sainte-Cécile-Plage
- Hardelot-Plage
- Équihen-Plage
- Wimereux
- Audresselles
- Ambleteuse
- Wissant
- Blériot-Plage
- Bray-Dunes
Other communes of the coast
From south to north:
- Merlimont
- Cucq
- Saint-Étienne-au-Mont
- Le Portel
- Audinghen
- Escalles
- Sangatte
- Marck
- Oye-Plage
- Grand-Fort-Philippe
- Gravelines
- Leffrinckoucke
- Zuydcoote
Arts
Many artists have been inspired by the coast's landscapes, among them the composer Henri Dutilleux, the writers Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens, and the painters J. M. W. Turner, Carolus-Duran, Maurice Boitel and Eugène Boudin. It was the painter Template:Ill who coined the name for this area in 1911 to describe the distinctive quality of its light.<ref>Le Touquet-Paris-Plage à l’aube de son nouveau siècle, éditions Flandres-Artois-Côte d’Opale, 1982, p.22</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Travel Guide of the Opal Coast / Côte d'Opale
- Accommodation on the Opal Coast / Côte d'Opale
- Côte d'Opale through photos : You will love it !
- Côte d'Opale : Tourism, shopping, B&B
- Le Cap Blanc Nez
- Le Cap Gris Nez
- Le Grand Site des 2 Caps
- Slipping on Côte d'Opale : B&b, Gîtes, Hôtels ...
- Tourism in Boulogne sur Mer and the Boulonnais area (in English)
- Cape Blanc Nez Template:Webarchive
- Cape Gris Nez Template:Webarchive