A one-time competitor in the cross-Channel passenger business, DUNKERQUE finally lost out in the late 1990s to Calais and, primarily, the Channel Tunnel. Although this has already had a gloomy effect on its hotels, restaurants and shops, Dunkerque is still France's third largest port and a massive industrial centre in its own right, albeit now badly hit by unemployment; its oil refineries and steelworks produce a quarter of the total French output. If you want to sleep in a Dunkerque hotel, have a look at this site. If you fancy a closer look at all this industrial muscle, during the day or at night, you could take one of the various themed boat trips from place du Minck, Bassin du Commerce, at the northern end of rue Clemenceau (March to mid-June & Sept to mid-Dec first weekend of the month; mid-June to Aug daily except Mon; the tourist office can provide a list of departure times or you can contact the boat company at [email protected]; 6–7.50).Unstylishly resurrected from wartime devastation, Dunkerque is frequently under a cloud of chemical smog and the only reasons you might want to visit are to pay homage to the events of 1940 – in which case you should head straight for Malo-les-Bains – or to stop off if heading towards Belgium from Calais. The few buildings of any significance to have survived the last war (or at least to have been rebuilt afterwards) are the tall medieval red-brick belfry that is the town's chief landmark, recently renovated (hourly guided tours: mid-June–mid-Sept Mon–Sat 10 & 11am & 2–5pm; July & Aug also Sun 11am & 2 & 3pm; 2.50); the much-restored fifteenth-century church of St-Éloi nearby; and, a few blocks north of the church on place Charles Valentin, the early twentieth century Hôtel de Ville, a Flemish fancy to rival that of Calais. Dunkerque does have a couple of museums worth seeing if you do end up here. The Musée des Beaux-Arts (daily except Tues 10am–12.15pm & 1.45–6pm; 3, first Sun of the month free), on place du Général-de-Gaulle near the post office, three blocks along rue du Président Poincaré from the belfry, has a good collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French, Dutch and Flemish paintings, with bits of natural history and a display on the May 1940 evacuations. The Musée d'Art Contemporain is closed indefinitely, but its sculpture park (daily: July & Aug 9am–8pm; Sept–June 9.30am–5.30pm; free), beside the canal on avenue des Bains, is still open to the public. More interesting, especially for children, is the Musée Portuaire (daily except Tues: July & Aug 10am–6pm; Sept–June 10am–12.45pm & 1.30–6pm; 4), at 9 quai de la Citadelle on the Bassin du Commerce, which illustrates the history of Dunkerque from its beginnings as a fishing hamlet, using models of boats and tools of the various trades associated with the port.
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