The Burghers of Calais

The holiday starts here. A hop and a skip to Folkestone, the train to Calais and here we stay for one night. Neither Mr C or I have stayed in Calais so we gave it one night to explore, and it’s definitely worth the effort. It’s a lovely town, with a very nice seafront, lovely restaurants and a gorgeous Rodin.

Here’s the blurb:

In 1884, the town council of Calais commissioned Auguste Rodin to create a monument commemorating the end of the terrible siege of 1346-47, when the conquering English agreed to accept the town’s surrender without punishment if six prominent citizens (burghers) would offer themselves as permanent hostages. Rodin portrayed the burghers with necks encircled by ropes, their bodies covered only by rough robes, as they walk barefoot to deliver the keys of the town.

Luckily French-English relations have improved since then and I can confirm it’s a very welcoming place.