Let’s be honest, Calais doesn’t enjoy the best of reputations. The small boats issue has seen to that – but, actually, the city has smartened up and a couple of 20-something Frenchmen, who run a shop in the town centre selling skateboard clothing, are even calling it ‘CalaisFornia’.
Of course, pre-Brexit, Calais was a handy ‘booze cruise’ destination, where you could load up the car with virtually as much cheap beer and wine as you wanted.
Today, there’s duty-free shopping instead – and that means you can still buy a fair amount of wine, beer and spirits. What’s more, it’s even less expensive than before when you claim back the VAT.
With this mind – and in need to stock up for Christmas and New Year – my 30-something son, Nick, and I take Le Shuttle and get straight down to business at Calais Vins, a wine superstore just a few minutes’ drive from the tunnel.
UK duty-free allowances are 42 litres of beer and 24 bottles of still (not sparkling) wine as well as 12 bottles of sparkling or fortified wine, which you can substitute for five or six bottles of spirits.
I snap up a couple of six-bottle cases of Charles Pelletier Brut Blanc de Blanc, a good substitute for champagne, for the equivalent of £44.64 a case, that’s £7.44 a bottle.
Back home, it would set me back £16.88 a bottle. Then I get to work on the reds, buying six bottles of Pinot Noir 2023 Maison Ropiteau for £31.24 (compared with £102.30 in the UK).
For good measure, I add a case of Belgian craft beer, Anosteke Saison, for £3.91 for a 75cl bottle, less than half the UK price, even if you could find it at home.
Jeff and Nick Mills load up on duty-free Christmas wine
The Calais Wine Superstore is just one of many places to stock up in the French port city
How it works is that you provide your passport details and as long as you spend at least €100, a scheme allows you to claim back French VAT (about 20 per cent). You just scan your receipt’s barcode in a machine at either Le Shuttle or ferry terminal on your way home.
After our shopping spree, we head into town where there are two Christmas markets, both operating between November 30 and January 5.
We check into the Ibis Styles hotel – not luxurious but it does the job and is a short drive from the seafood restaurant, Oh! Mouette (Oh! Seagull), which is sensational. If you glance out of the window you may spot the boat which landed your plateau de fruits de mer.
Next morning, we survey the entire Calais area from the clock tower of the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) where in a lift up to the belfry you can stop at many Flemish renaissance-style rooms, including the one where General De Gaulle was married.
Outside, there’s a sculpture of De Gaulle and Winston Churchill looking chummy.
There are deals to be had when we return to Le Shuttle terminal, too, including a free six-bottle case of wine if you spend €200 on duty-free goods. We resist this one. What we’ve got in the boot of the car is more than enough for now.
TRAVEL FACTS
Calais by Eurotunnel Le Shuttle from £59 one way for a vehicle and up to nine passengers (www.eurotunnel.com). Double rooms at the Ibis Styles hotel from £77b&b ([email protected]).
