Photo : Cap Blanc-Nez - ©A. Chaput Pas-de-Calais Tourisme

Craving to swap city clamour for spray-lashed cliffs, sky-filling kites and world-famous fries? Then you’ll love Pas-de-Calais (62), where Grand Sites, UNESCO treasures and friendly festivals mingle on the same horizon.

Nature & gentle roaming: from the twin headlands of Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez—both labelled Grand Site de France—the coastal trail unrolls dizzying views over the English Channel. Inland, the vast Audomarois marshes (22,000 ha of canals and wetlands) form a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve teeming with birdlife. Two legendary routes invite you to travel car-free: the Via Francigena, linking Calais to Arras through fields and villages, and the Vélomaritime / EuroVelo 4, which hugs the coast from Berck and Le Touquet onwards.

Heritage & festival spirit: the former pits of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin and the imposing northern belfries are both on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, while the Louvre-Lens has turned a coalfield into a beacon of contemporary culture. Here, conviviality is an artform: fiery Sainte-Barbe nights in Lens, the International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer, and the spectacular World French-Fries Championship on Arras’s Grand’Place keep the party going.

Flavours & art of living: on the plate, Flemish roots meet English and Polish accents: summer cauliflower, endives, a revamped Welsh rarebit, just-landed fish or the famous Arras andouillette. Pair it all with a craft beer or a zesty local white, then finish with a cone of award-winning fries—yes, there’s a whole championship devoted to them!

Whether you travel solo, as a couple or with the whole tribe, Pas-de-Calais offers a “train + nature + culture” escape where coastal panoramas, mining memories and hearty feasts blend into one irresistible experience.