MALO-LES-BAINS is a more attractive place to stop off than Dunkerque: it's a surprisingly pleasant nineteenth-century seaside suburb on the east side of town (buses #3 & #9), from whose vast sandy beach the Allied troops embarked in 1940. Digue des Alliés is the dirtier end of an extensive beachfront promenade lined with cafés and restaurants; at the cleaner end, Digue des Mers, the beach can almost seem pleasant when the sun comes out – as long as you avert your eyes from the industrial inferno to the west. However, the suburb actually reveals its fin-de-siècle charm away from the seafront, a few parallel blocks inland along avenue Faidherbe and its continuation avenue Kléber, with the pretty green place Turenne sandwiched in between; around here you'll find some excellent pâtisseries, boulangeries and charcuteries.A beachfront campsite La Licorne is at 1005 boulevard de l'Europe (tel 03.28.69.26.68, [email protected]). Other places to stay include the Hirondelle, 46 av Faidherbe (tel 03.28.63.17.65, www.hotelhirondelle.com; €55–70), a modern two-star in a great position; and the unassuming, less expensive Au Bon Coin, 49 av Kléber (tel 03.28.69.12.63, fax 03.28.69.64.03; €40–55), whose cosy bar is good for a drink. Both have well-regarded restaurants specializing in seafood: menus cost from around €12 at both. Also on avenue Kléber are a few more exotic eateries, including a Vietnamese and a North African restaurant. Two popular beachfront brasseries, again focusing on seafood, are L'Iguane, 15 Digue des Alliés, a down-to-earth establishment offering generous servings at €7 a plat, and the stylish but more expensive Le Pavois, at 175 Digue de Mer (menu €16).
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