A good destination for a booze cruise (Shopping in Calais)

Member Name: ecolojo

Product:	Shopping in Calais
Date:	30/08/09 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy and fast shopping

Disadvantages: Difficult to find your way around the town beyone Cite d'Europe

I go to Calais on a booze cruise from time to time, and I combine stocking up on wine and other good things with a night or two in France.

First of all the stocking up on wine etc. The easiest way to stock up on a lot of wine and other nice French things is to go to Cite d'Europe. It is easy to find on Google maps, and once you are there there are plenty of road signs except that once in a while it it called "Centre Commercial" rather than "Cite d'Europe". Cite d'Europe has an enormous Carrefour supermarket which is well geared up for the visiting Brit, although the staff can be a little intolerant when it comes to the language barrier from time to time. Tescos at Cite d'Europe concentrates on booze, brands mostly recognised from its UK stores. If you have a little more time it can be worth trying the discount supermakets in the Calais area. Look up Aldi, Lidl and ED.

Once you have stocked up, if you need to stay overnight it will almost certainly be cheaper, and probably nicer too, to do this in France than in England. The camping municipal is far from plush, but it is next to a pleasant beach surrounded by restaurants: only a limited number will be open in the winter. The campsite facilities are fine and included in the campsite fees, which are very low.

A couple of budget hotels in Calais are BB Hotel and Formule 1, a room for two people usually costs about 40 euros. Campanile and Kyriad are a little more expensive, and reliable while unexciting. The group of independent hotels "Logis de France"are generally reliable, good value and with more character. If you would like to go further afield, why not visit the vibrant city of Lille, or explore the coast south of Calais?

Summary: Concentrate on the shopping, but try enjoying France a little too.