Côte d'Opale

The Opal Coast is a coastal region in northern France on the English Channel, popular with tourists.

Geography
The Côte d'Opale is a coastal region in northeastern France, in the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. It extends over 120 km of French coast between the Belgian border and the border with Picardy. This coastline faces the English Channel and the North Sea, and is situated directly opposite the chalk cliffs of southeast England, which at the closest point are only 34 km away.

The Côte d'Opale is composed of many varied landscapes including beaches, dunes, swamps, estuaries and cliffs. The coast is marked by the presence of two large promontories situated between Calais and Boulogne: the Cap Gris Nez (literally "grey nose cape" in English), reaching an elevation of 50 m above sea level, and the Cap Blanc Nez (literally "white nose cape" in English), which reaches 132 m. These capes are the closest points to England on the entire French coast.

Cities

 * Boulogne-sur-Mer
 * Calais
 * Dunkerque

Famous seaside resorts
From south to north:
 * Berck
 * Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
 * Sainte-Cécile-Plage
 * Hardelot-Plage
 * Équihen-Plage
 * Wimereux
 * Audresselles
 * Ambleteuse
 * Wissant
 * Blériot-Plage
 * Bray-Dunes

Other communes of the coast
From south to north:
 * Merlimont
 * Cucq
 * Saint-Étienne-au-Mont
 * Le Portel
 * Audinghen
 * Escalles
 * Sangatte
 * Marck
 * Oye-Plage
 * Grand-Fort-Philippe
 * Gravelines
 * Leffrinckoucke
 * Zuydcoote

Arts
Many artists have been inspired by the coast's landscapes, among them the composer Henri Dutilleux, the writers Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens, and the painters J. M. W. Turner, Carolus-Duran, Maurice Boitel and Eugène Boudin. It was the painter Édouard Lévêque who coined the name for this area in 1911 to describe the distinctive quality of its light.