The city can lay claim to being the most northerly in France. It lies on a narrow strip of coastline between the Pas de Calais, where the English Channel begins, and Belgian Flanders - from which it is hardly visually distinguishable. Flat and damp, bordered by a wide strip of white sand, it is the only piece of North Sea in this country so rich in sea. It is around thirty kilometres long, to be precise.
Of course, Dunkirk - Dunkerque in the original and Duunkerke in the local Franco-Flemish dialect - is a seaside resort. After all, so much beach needs to be utilised.
Bordered by a grassy belt of dunes, it stretches from the district of Malo-les-Bains via the small communities of Leffrinckouke, Zuydcoote and Bray Dunes to the Belgian border. It is a summer retreat of the harsh kind that can be found down here, where the North Sea stretches out its hand to the Atlantic. Even on hot days in August, a wind can spring up here, shaking the parasols and driving the fine drifting sand right across the promenade, where it surprises the unsuspecting, freshly creamed up and with an ice-cream cone in hand.
Yet there is little to indicate the tragic role that this place has played in the history of its country - even if it lies on its outermost edge.
For a long time, Dunkirk was one of France's most important harbours, in war and peace. Jean Bart is one of the city's sons, a privateer and folk hero who crossed swords with the English and Dutch in the second half of the seventeenth century. He emerged victorious time and time again. His statue proudly raises his sword high - on the square named after him and with a fixed view of the bell tower of Saint-Éloi Cathedral, where the tricolour flutters high above. So far, so radiant.
But what had been built up over centuries was quickly reduced to rubble and ashes: in the early summer of 1940, Hitler's blitzkrieg came to Dunkirk. It took barely two weeks for the Allied troops in northern France to be cut off. They retreated to the Channel coast, to Dunkirk, while the German Wehrmacht tightened the noose around the town from the end of May. In desperate need, the British launched Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of the trapped troops to England, only 35 nautical miles away.
Despite constant attacks and great sacrifices, the "Miracle of Dunkirk" succeeded, 340,000 soldiers were saved in an unprecedented operation before the city capitulated on 4 June.
At the end of the war, the destruction was so complete, the streets full of rubble, the harbour basins full of wreckage, that a resurrection was considered impossible. But the impossible happened: today, the city is not only once again the third largest port in France after Marseille and Le Havre - it has also long since become the popular excursion and holiday destination it once was. Envie d'un weekend-end à Dunkerque? Fancy a weekend in Dunkirk? Mais oui!
Arrivée: Arrival on your own keel
Dunkirk's port facilities stretch along the coast for 17 kilometres, starting with the Port ouest (west port) and the container and gas terminals at Loon-Plage to the west of the city (the ferry to Dover in England also departs from here), via the Port central for oil and bulk goods at Mardyck to the Port est (east port) in the city centre. All parts are connected on the inside of the dunes via canals and locks.
Pleasure craft head for the Port historique (historic harbour) via the eastern entrance, marked by the Saint-Pol pier light on the starboard side. The eastern pier, which played an important role during Operation Dynamo in 1940, begins on the port side: this was the only place where larger ships could dock to take troops directly on board.
Other landmarks are the Risban lighthouse on the starboard side ahead (one of the town's landmarks at 63 metres high) and the halls of the Damen shipyard in front of it. Guests without a fixed berth can contact "Dunkerque VTS" on VHF channel 73.
The marinas: plenty of space for guests
The jetty offers no fewer than three Dunkerque Marina. The route is initially the same: it follows the harbour channel to the south-east. Just south of the lighthouse, the Grand Large Marina is already waiting on the port side. A good option for those who don't want to lock or wait for bridges to open. The tidal range is not an issue thanks to the floating jetties. Dunkirk's water filling station is also located here and the beach at Malo-les-Bains is just around the corner.
However, you can only moor directly in the city centre if you choose the jetties in the Bassin du Commerce or Bassin de la Marine. Access is via the Trystram lock and four movable bridges, which are opened four times a day for entry and three times a day for exit. Registration for lock and bridges: VHF 73. Berths: VHF 9.
Maritime history in the harbour museum
Dunkirk's maritime past goes back a long way; it only became a French story in 1662, when Louis XIV bought the town from the English crown. The Sun King had good instincts, as the harbour quickly grew - and with it the importance of Dunkirk.
The exciting centuries that followed are told in the Musée Maritime et Portuaire with a modern, contemporary exhibition. From Jean Bart, who evolved from privateer to loyal servant of his king, to the herring fishermen who travelled as far as Iceland, to the global trade network spun by the local shipowners in the 19th century, and finally - after the almost final caesura of the Second World War - to the successful re-entry into the league of Europe's major seaports.
Le Centre, the city centre of Dunkirk
There was hardly anything left of the historic centre of the city at the end of the war. Only the energetic reconstruction in the following two decades gave Dunkirk a face again - even if it was a different one. However, the two most important historical landmarks were restored to their original appearance: the three-winged town hall on Place Charles Valentin, built in 1901 in the neo-Flemish style, and the late Gothic Saint-Éloi hall church with its free-standing brick bell tower.
This so-called Belfry, completed in 1233 as a watch and lighthouse, is now a World Heritage Site. A lift takes you to the belfry, above which there is a viewing platform with a magnificent panoramic view of the city and harbour. There are two shopping centres, Centre Marin and Pôle Marine, right on the Bassin de la Marine.
Operation Dynamo: experience the "miracle
The events of the war in the early summer of 1940 have left their mark, not only on the memory of Dunkirk, but also on the real topography of the city. There are still wrecks off the coast and bullet holes in facades. Every building erected after 1945 fills a gap in the destruction.
The "Miracle of Dunkirk" took place in a very limited space: from 26 May to 3 June, almost 340,000 Allied soldiers were successfully evacuated, most of them British, but also French and Belgian. Everything that could swim was deployed, 850 ships of all sizes, from destroyers and ferries to trawlers and small private yachts. But the losses were heavy in the hail of bombs from the German dive bombers. The dramatic nine days are recalled in the Musée Dunkerque 1940 Opération Dynamo., housed in an old fortress.
First the art, then the beach
On the site of a former large shipyard (of which only the slipways remain), Dunkirk's newest neighbourhood has been created. In the very north of the old fortress island, surrounded by overgrown ramparts and water, you will not only find the Port de Grand Large and the Musée Dunkerque 1940, but also two exceptional museums of contemporary art: the FRAC Grand Large Hauts-de-Francewhose glass halls are intended as an industrial homage, and the LAAC (Lieu d'Art et Action Contemporaine)The bridge is at least as spectacular, located in the centre of its own sculpture garden. The pedestrian bridge du Grand Large finally leads over to the beach promenade of the Malo-les-Bains district, the dunes and the beach.
Week-end à Zuydcoote: further along the coast
Malo-les-Bains, with its promenade, monumental concrete façades, Kursaal and casino, epitomises the seaside resort. To the east, things get quieter - and greener: Leffrinckouke, Zuydcoote and Bray Dunes are located in a wide belt of dunes, while the Westhoek nature reserve on the Belgian side of the border is perfect for walks.
This is where the circle closes. Not only in terms of the urban extent of Dunkirk, but also in terms of its history: a film was made here in 1964 at a historical location, focusing on the nine days in the early summer of 1940. Based on a novel by Robert Merle, the film was directed by Henri Verneuil. In the leading role: Jean-Paul Belmondo as a member of a defeated army. However, it is not a heroic story, the film is more about love. Its title: "Week-end à Zuydcoote".
