Discount Hotels Calais
Historical interest: Calais
    
Calais was captured in 1347 by Edward III during the Hundred Years War, and it
remained in English hands until 1558, when it was liberated by François,
2nd duc de Guise. Its surrender to the English was the occasion of the well-known
incident of the 'Six Burghers of Calais'.
The city had been reduced to starvation by the siege. The Mayor and five other
leading citizens came out of the city and offered Edward III the keys to the
city and their lives, if he would only spare the city itself. Edward accepted
these terms and the lives of the Burghers themselves were eventually spared
due to the intercession of Queen Philippa (herself from Hainault).
The next big thing to happen in Calais was the spectacular meeting in 1520
between François I and Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloths
of Gold. The two were uniting against the other major potentate of the times,
Charles V (the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor).
Calais did not remain in French hands long after its liberation from the English
in 1558. On April 17, 1596, the city fell to an assault by the Spanish under
the command of the Archduke Cardinal Albert of Austria. The king of France had
been actively at war with Spain since 1595, and most of the action took place
in Picardy and Flanders.
In WWII, the British destroyed Calais to prevent it being used as a base for
a German invasion, but the French still refer to it as 'the most English town
in France'. Nottingham lace makers set up business in Calais in the early 19th
century. Nowadays, nine million British travellers per year, plus another million
or more day-trippers, flock to the city.
Selection of hotels in this region:
Ibis Calais Car Ferry | | Cottage Hotel | | Metropol Hotel | | Le George V Hotel | | Suitehotel Calais Coquelles | | Copthorne Hotel Coquelles - Calais | |
Click below for a
full list of hotels and online booking
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