Calais divides in two with Calais-Nord, the old town rebuilt after the war with the drab place d'Armes and rue Royale as its focus, separated by canals from the sprawling "new town" or Calais-Sud, centred around the Hôtel de Ville and the main shopping streets, boulevards Lafayette and Jacquard – the latter named after the inventor of looms, who mechanized Calais' lacemaking industry.Calais-Nord's charms, such as they are, soon wear thin. The grim Tour du Guet, on place d'Armes, is the only medieval building in the quarter to have survived wartime bombardment. From the Tour, rue de la Paix leads to the church of Notre-Dame, where Charles de Gaulle married local girl Yvonne Vendroux in 1921. Rather spuriously dubbed the only English Perpendicular church on the continent, it's not a particularly good example of the style, especially in its present state of dereliction. Frill-fanciers can enjoy the unusual lacemaking exhibition, along with a small but interesting collection of sixteenth- to twentieth-century art, including paintings by Picasso and Dubuffet, and a Rodin sculpture, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle on rue Richelieu (Mon & Wed–Fri 10am–noon & 2–5.30pm, Sat 10am–noon & 2–6.30pm, Sun 2–6.30pm; €3, free Wed), which runs alongside the Parc Richelieu, at the other end of rue Royale from the place d'Armes. Calais-Sud is scarcely more exciting. Just over the canal bridge, the town's landmark, the Hôtel de Ville, raises its belfry over 60m into the sky; this Flemish extravaganza was finished in 1926, and miraculously survived World War II. Somewhat dwarfed by the building, Rodin's famous bronze, the Burghers of Calais, records for ever the self-sacrifice of local dignitaries, who offered their lives to assuage the blood lust of the victor at Crécy, Edward III – only to be spared at the last minute by the intervention of Queen Philippa, Edward's wife. For a record of Calais' wartime travails you can consult the fascinating Musée de la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale (mid-Feb to March daily except Tues 11am–5pm, April & Sept daily 11am–5.30pm, May–Aug daily 10am–6pm Oct–mid-Nov daily except Tues noon–5pm; €4.50), installed in a former German Blockhaus in the Parc St-Pierre across the street, with exhibits of uniforms, weapons and models from World War II and a small section devoted to World War I.
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