keith

hi, <BR> <BR> there are several other routes to choose from for the hover craft across the channel and i was wondering if anyone can give me advantages for taking one over the others? also, if we choose to dock into Calais is this a good place to stay for a night or should head into Paris for our stay? <BR> <BR>thanx much ! <BR>keith

Maira

Calais is actually an interesting town with fascinating military history. We stayed overnight and took the hovercraft to Dover early the next day. If you drive into town (about 1-2 miles from the Channel Crossing station) and drive along the coast, you'll see plenty of hotels. There are a couple of WWII museums. Let me know if you need recommendations for a hotel.

Ben Haines

Fodors <BR> <BR>There are two short crossings, Dover Calais and Folkestone Boulogne. <BR> <BR>Dover has an interesting castle, with a Roman lighthouse, Anglo-Saxon church, Norman and other fortifications, tunnels dug against Napoleon, tunnels used against Hitler's air force, and a Regional Seat of Government prepared for the Cold War. <BR> <BR>We bombed Calais to bits in Hitler's War, and there are just two things to see, a rebuilt Flemish town hall and a good museum of the Occupation and Resistance. <BR> <BR>Folkestone is a seaside town of little interest. <BR> <BR>Boulogne was much bombed, too, but kept the old walled town and castle, with a museum and a large aquarium. <BR> <BR>So one way might be to see Dover one morning, cross to Calais, lunch there, drive to Boulogne, spend a night there, and carry on next day at noon to Paris. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>

Vincent

Just for the anecdote, the otherwise uninteresting city of Calais is in all French conversations nowadays, since its totally amateur soccer team (4th division) made to France's soccer cup final and tonight only lost 1-2 to Nantes, a professional team. Now everybody "loves" this little town, since they represent sheer courage and dedication against the big "fat" and jaded professional teams. So if you go there within a few weeks, you are likely to see the town covered with gold/red banners, the local club's. I think there even was a paper in the Washington Post about it (and in British newspapers by any case). So,if you're interested, you might do a search on the net.

Maira

Keith: I e-mailed you the following info as well. This is in case somebody else needs similar info. <BR> <BR>"When we got to Calais, we went to the ferry station (Hoverport) to buy the tickets for early the next day. We asked for a hotel in town and the following was recommended: <BR> <BR>Hotel Climat <BR>Digue Gaston Berthe <BR>62100 Calais <BR>Phone 03 21 34 6464 <BR>FAX 03 21 34 3539 <BR> <BR>It is 5 minutes from the TGV Frethun and 7 minutes from the Hoverport. Is right across the ocean coast. The rooms were clean, spacious and comfortable. The restaurant seemed to be very good as well. I have a brochure and a list of hotels in Calais that I picked up for future reference. I could fax to you if that is convenient. About the car, Calais has a good bus service and taxis, so I don't think a car is essential. We had one because my husband was there on business as well. As a matter of fact we dropped it at the Hoverport. HERTZ has a car rental post there. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your planning and, most of all, enjoy FRANCE!" <BR>