Dunkerque

Understand

The name Dunkirk comes from the Dutch language "Church of the Dunes".

Dunkirk has the third-largest harbour in France, after those of Le Havre and Marseille. As an industrial city, it depends heavily on the steel, food processing, oil-refining, ship-building and chemical industries.

Get around

The public buses are free of charge since September 2018.

See

thumb|Façade of Saint-Éloi Church

Do

"Une Digue": take a walk on the Malo-les-Bains dike, between beach and "turn of the century" villas while eating an ice cream. On Saturday evening, take a stroll on the seawall: the atmosphere is in the bars. Football: USL Dunkerque were promoted in 2023 and play soccer in Ligue 2, the second tier. Their home ground Stade Marcel-Tribut (capacity 5000) is on the east river bank, about 1 km east of town centre.

Eat

The cuisine of Dunkirk closely resembles Flemish cuisine; perhaps one of the best known dishes is coq à la bière – chicken in a creamy beer sauce. Another typical dish is the Potjevleesch, a dish of white meat (veal, pork, rabbit, chicken) cooked and preserved in jelly flavoured with juniper berries.