You don't need to walk or catch a taxi – if you can find one – into town from the ferry terminal: there's a free if infrequent daytime bus service to place d'Armes and the central Calais-Ville train station, in front of which is a de facto bus station, with departures for Dunkerque, Boulogne and the out-of-city hypermarkets. To get to the outlying gare TGV ("Calais-Fréthun"), for Eurostar trains to London and Paris, either take a bus or one of the regular trains to Boulogne, checking first that it stops there (most do). If you're intent on hitching to Paris, take a left out of the ferry terminal – the new autoroute bypass begins almost immediately, leading to both the A26 and the original N1. If you plan to rent a car, you could try Avis (tel 03.21.34.66.50) and Budget (tel 03.21.96.42.20), both located in place d'Armes and at the ferry terminal; a cheaper option, also at the ferry terminal, is National Citer (tel 03.21.34.58.45).If, for some reason, you decide to stay in Calais, plenty of accommodation is available, though it can be tricky finding a room late in the day in high season, and it's wise to book ahead. Alternatively, you could use the free accommodation booking service run by the tourist office at 12 bd Clemenceau, the continuation of rue Royale (June–Aug Mon–Sat 9am–7pm, Sun 10am–1pm, Sept–June Mon–Sat 10am–1pm & 2–6.30pm; tel 03.21.96.62.40, www.ot-calais.fr), which also has a list of gîtes in the region.
Pages in section ‘Information’: Hotels, Hostel and campsite.
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