If you saw last week’s blog post you’ll know that we spent about a week on the northwest coast of France in the Pas-de-Calais departement in the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The object was to have some time to visit a part of the country that previously we’d only glimpsed from a railway carriage on our way from London to Paris, initially from a ferry port or years later after passing through the Channel Tunnel on the Eurostar. Once we’ve arrived in a city by train, our favorite method of transport is on foot, so we chose some destinations that were easily walkable from the station.

Although Montreuil-sur-Mer still includes “on the sea” as part of the town’s name, it’s been a while since this medieval city was actually a seaport. In fact, by the 1500s the estuary of the River Canche had silted up so much that Montreuil was essentially landlocked. However, that may have helped preserve much of what inspired Victor Hugo during his visit in 1837 to include characters, buildings, events, and landscapes described in his “Les Misérables”. The Tourist Office has tours, self-guided or accompanied, to point out references to Fantine and Monseigneur Myriel, Thénardiers’ Inn, and the runaway cart incident, for example.

What really interested us, however, was to discover why this place was called the “Carcassonne of the North”. Once we saw its circuit of defensive walls that entirely encircle its historic upper cité (today’s featured photo is on rue Clape en haut) and noted the presence of a more residential lower town, we began to understand. While our hometown is bigger and more widely known, Montreuil-sur-Mer has also kept its charm and state of preservation.

About 20 minutes further down the rail line was Hesdin, our next destination. There’s an annual contest in France to elect the country’s favorite village and each region gets to nominate one candidate. Three years ago the town of Hesdin achieved second place nationwide so we went there to see what made it so special.

An advantage of visiting villages is that they tend to be compact, so within 10 minutes of walking out of the train station we were standing in Hesdin’s large central square, Place d’Armes, dominated by a 16th century palace that today serves as City Hall. Rising 70 meters (230 feet) behind there is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Belfry, a bell tower constructed in unison with the palace, then rebuilt or restored at least 6 times over the centuries. 

The route back to the station took us past the church Notre-Dame, opened in 1568 and across Pont Blondin, a bridge named for the Niagara Falls tightrope walker born in Hesdin in 1824. Strolling through the old town’s cobbled streets, with their traditional French houses, some with half-timbered features, offered a glimpse into the town’s well-preserved history.

Bonus website: While researching today’s destinations, we found an association of 104 small towns across France, The Most Beautiful Detours, that highlights the country’s diverse, less-frequented areas like Montreuil-sur-Mer. https://www.plusbeauxdetours.com/