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A BIG SURPRISE! Calais deserves a visit | A true gem on the Opal Coast of Hauts-de-France.

Planes, Trains, Everything.

91,379 views

Mostly, people simply pass through Calais, as a gateway to somewhere else. BUT, I decided to STAY for two nights (one full day). However, I quickly realised that Calais definitely deserved 2 or more days, and, I will be back. My journey to Calais was not without it's challenges, but once there I was very pleasantly surprised - the sights, the people and the food. A genuinely lovely city and I'm sad I didn't discover this sooner.

[Correction: Calais is in the Hauts-de-France region and not Normandie. It was the amount of Normandie food available which threw me!]

#calaisXXL #calais #normandie #france #city #surprised #recommended #ferry #ferrytrip #englishchannel

Filmed July 2026 | Calais, France.

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*** PRICES FROM THIS VIDEO:
Avanti: Glasgow to Euston (1st class with conc.) £81 (refunded due to cancellation.
Southern: London Victoria to Dover Priory (conc.) £9
East Cliff Hotel Dover: £41
P&O: Dover to Calais £32
Metropol Hotel Calais: £60 per night
Calais Ville to Gare du Nord: £44
Paris CDG-Heathrow-Glasgow: BA £17 (mainly paid by Avios)

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*** MUSIC:
Music courtesy of epidemicsound.com.

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*** TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:56 Glasgow to Calais
00:11:38 Calais
00:43:59 Calais to Glasgow

20 Comments

@crashbox7130 1 month ago

When Scott said he can't speak French, I thought he was going to let the funky music do the talking.

@Tracy-z2d 1 month ago

Scott, you have a wonderfully unique way of taking us along with you as though we’re a travelling companion. Thank you and Sue too.

@nealedesousa110 2 weeks ago

Such a wonderful insight into a city that is usually consideted synonymous with despair.

@Kevster61 1 month ago

Scott, until you highlighted it , I didn’t realise I wanted to stay in the East Cliff Hotel so badly. Surprised the cost wasn’t in Guineas. So many reminders of my childhood, including the Elephant in the reception. And that’s not a joke.

@clemfandango5026 1 month ago

How does this man find the time and energy to be CONSTANTLY on the go!

@AndrewDGarfield 1 month ago

I have stayed in Calais a few times and found it to be a fantastic town, good food, good shopping and very friendly people.

@eileenmclean1274 1 month ago

A great video Scott. Never knew Calais was so huge. A Scott video is not complete with a "keep dreaming" appearing on screen and yep, there it was. Thank you Scott ❤❤❤❤

@gazrob2166 1 month ago

This was a great video Scott. You are fun to watch. My favourite travel channel. You didn't rush like you did in your last one. This is more like it.

@Simonsjr-e6k 1 month ago

Hi Scott yet another great video,please please keep these great adventures going as they are priceless,you and Steve marsh are the only 2 subscribers I watch and both of you are YouTube royalty

@ont.cobbles 1 month ago

I may need to go there JUST for that cake!

@navmantogo 1 month ago

Great video Scott, my wife and I always look forward to your content. Made our night watching this video

@briangentle5515 1 month ago

Thanks for this one Scott. It brought up so many thoughts and memories. In the heyday of cross channel travel, you'd have special trains from Victoria to Dover Marine, which didn't stop anywhere else on the way and ditto from Calais Maritime to Paris Nord. I even remember one which I went on as a school kid where there was a kind of through carriage which took you round from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon.
Had to smile about the Maroile cheese. It really is a stinky thing! Also you commented about the market while you were at the cheese stall that there were no tourists, only locals, just as a lady was talking in Dutch behind you thinking about taking some cheese home with them!
Calais is in a pretty poor part of France, yet they manage decent and even free public transport and they manage to put their historical information plaques in 2 languages. Try that in South East England....

@catwalkin-im7yp 1 month ago

Dover Ferry Port has treated its foot passengers with utter contempt certainly since I first sailed from there in 1974.

@thecyclingscot9403 1 month ago

It's been great to join you on this tour of Calais. I've learned so much about a place I knew so little about. That cake looks amazing

@sandiandgregh 1 month ago

Calais was a big surprise in a good way. All the food looked good but that pastry really looked amazing.

@vodkaphix 1 month ago

A very intriguing video and calais it seems is worth a short stopover as you have presented. I have been through Calais as a tour bus driver many many times over 25 years and never stopped over. Thanks Scott.

@paulgibsonphotography 1 month ago

Great Video Scott

@ljcbvideo 1 month ago

Love it! Did number 4 to Calais also way back in the mid 80's! And my most vivid memory of the two day vist was the train back to Victoria station with a shoulder bag half full of different cheeses and two decent truckles of the smelly cheese. By the time we arrived in London people were complaining about an awful smell in the carriage!!!! Happy days!

BTW Calais was part of England a long time ago.... according to Google between 1347 to 1558!!!

Enjoy your travels!!! Cheers!

@carolr6585 1 month ago (edited)

Great video Scott. The large 'building with no name' in the square in Calais is a sort of 'general covered hall' as you discovered used for various arts events and performances - at Christmas it often gets turned into an ice rink with the sides fully open well into the evening. The Maroilles cheese you mentioned is often added into a sauce which you can add to your steak/chicken and chips, and Calais Cake is simply one of the BEST cakes that exists - In my extensive research it is impossible to get a bad one! It's also all the more delicious for the fact that you can ONLY get this exact cake in Calais - go down the road to Boulogne and it's not available! Potjevleesch is usually available in the supermarket 'weird jars and tins' section, or is often a 'special' on menus. It's absolutely delicious! My husband and I always add on an extra night or 2 in order to stay in Calais, and it makes for an excellent small city stay.

@DSTWizz 1 month ago

Well Scott, you really excelled yourself in this one. You realise of course that the next time you visit Calais it'll be full of tourists and it'll be all your fault for showing it off so beautifully. That was amazing; your commentary, your camerawork, everything. Oh, your editing was (of course) perfect! You'll have to take Sue with you next time though... I wonder if you got a row when you got home for not bringing her a Le Calais cake? Looked delicious (as did all the food you sampled!) Thanks again for taking us with you!