This is Boulogne sur Mer !!!

Posted in Europe, France
I like to tell you again about my road warrior trails in my belle France. Again, found me some older paper pictures of wonderful Boulogne sur Mer, glad I did find it and will need to show it to the world, I like to do justice to the place and give you an introduction, I have to say sorry for the quality of the pictures but these are old!! Therefore, here is my take on this is Boulogne sur Mer !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I. The City of Boulogne-sur-Mer is in the Pas-de-Calais dept 62 of the Hauts-de-France region ,on the Côte d’Opale, by the Channel and at the mouth of the Liane, It is about 30 km from Calais, 100 km de Lille and 215 km from Paris, Boulogne-sur-Mer is connected to the A16 highway, which links to the Paris region ,and up to the border with Belgium via Beauvais, Amiens, Abbeville, Calais and Dunkerque. Several exits of the A16 serve Boulogne-sur-Mer: exit no 29 dessert Boulogne-Sud and the port, exits no 30 and no 31 serve Boulogne-Est and exit no 32 dessert Boulogne-Nord and allows you to reach the beach. The city is also on the way of several departmental and national routes, including the N42, an expressway to quickly reach Saint-Omer and the A26 highway (which leaves towards Reims and Troyes). Boulogne-Ville train station, located in the south of the city is the main station of Boulogne. It allows you to join Paris, Lille, Amiens or Calais-Fréthun (which provides links to London) but also nearby towns in TER Hauts-de-France. Boulogne-Tintelleries train station, located in the city center, is served by TER between Boulogne-Ville and Calais. The nearest airport is Touquet-Côte d’Opale airport, about 20 km away. The larger airports in the region are those of Lille-Lesquin (130 km) and Beauvais (180 km). Historically belonging to Picardy, Boulogne-sur-Mer is attached to the department of Pas-de-Calais at the French revolution, then to the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in the 20C and, since 2016, to the Hauts-de-France region. Located on the edge of the English Channel, facing the English coasts, the city is known to be the first fishing port in France, for having been an important connection port with England until the end of the 20C and for its 2 000 years of hectic history, mainly marked by the desires for the conquest by Julius César and Napoleon I. On the Place Godefroy de Bouillon you see the wonderful Belfry of Boulogne, 13C of the old Roman dungeon its current height is 35 meters. In 1734, the old municipal house, current City hall, joined it, The Béffroi de Boulogne, is,also, part of the 55 “Beffrois of Belgium and France” registered on the World Heritage List in 1999 for Belgians and in 2005 for the North of France. Boulogne sur Mer place Godefroy de Bouillon c2009 The Château d’Aumont today Château-Musée, it includes various collections: Alaska masks, collection of Egyptian antiquities, objects from Africa and Oceania, Roman and medieval sculptures, Tables by Georges Mathieu. The visitor discovers at the same time the Roman foundations of the castle as well as the Barbière room (vaulted Gothic room of warheads), the Comleté ​​room and the chapel. Boulogne sur Mer château musée de Boulogne entr c2009 The National Center of the Sea,or Nausicaá, is a center of scientific and technical culture devoted to the relationship that man has with the sea. Opened on May 18, 1991, the center is today one of the main tourist sites of France (the first in the department 62 ,and the second north of Paris). Located opposite the fishing port, on the pier, its aquariums totaling more than 17 million liters of seawater house a fauna rich with more than 60,000 marine species from around the world, over 10,000 m2. They are accompanied by exhibitions on maritime fauna, exploitation and management of marine resources (fishing, aquaculture, coastal development, maritime transport, exploitation of mineral and energy resources, tourism, etc.). Its objective is to introduce and love the sea to the general public, while aware of the need for good management of marine resources. A must to visit, me think. Boulogne sur Mer Nausicaä centre nat de la mer entr c2009 Other things to see are the Palais Imperial, or Hôtel Desandrouin or Androuins built in 1777 for the Viscount François-Joseph-Théodore Desandrouin, he briefly welcomed the first consul then Emperor Napoleon, the Empress Marie-Louise of Austria and the tsar Alexandre Ier , The Fontaine Louis XVI and Pavilion, behind the gayole door: fountain, with the facade of the pavilion which surmounts it and the wall on which it is backed over a length of about 10 meters on each side of the monument, The Casa San Martín, in the city center, house in which the Argentinian liberator resided, General José de San Martín, now a museum in his honor. The equestrian statue of General San Martín, along the beach and inaugurated on October 24, 1909, The commercial port of Boulogne-sur-Mer with 470 berths divided into three basins, the marina of Boulogne can accommodate all the pleasure boats, including the sailboats up to twenty-five meters, The fortified City which fortifications which surround it, and the castle (today museum) constitute one of the best -preserved medieval architectural sets in France. The bases of these ramparts are those of the Gallo-Roman ramparts. The belfry , was at the origin of the dungeon of the first known castle of the counts of Boulogne, late 12C. Its rooms welcome a lapidary museum (Godefroy de Bouillon stained glass, stone and cast iron balls, well … The Notre-Dame de l’Immaculate Basilica It was built between 1827 and 1866 on the site of the cathedral shaved in 1798. Its dome, 101 m high, is seen for miles around. it is made up of 147 kinds of marble and ornamental stones. The Virgin , its walls covered with frescoes (“Grisailles” of the 19C and medieval paintings), its sculptures and its sacred art treasure (including the reliquary of the Holy Blood, offered by Philippe le Bel in 1308). A bit of history I like tell us that in the Middle Ages, Boulogne is the seat of the county of Boulogne. One of its counts, Eustache II as Grenons (“with beautiful mustaches”), invades England with the Duke of Normandy William. The count is the husband of Saint Ide and the father of Godefroy de Bouillon. Another, Etienne de Blois, is king of England in the 12C .Alphonse de Portugal, husband of the Countess of Boulogne Mathilde II, is king of Portugal. Baudouin de Boulogne, count of Boulogne, brother of Godefroy de Bouillon, is the first Christian king of Jerusalem. In 1477, the victory of King Louis XI over the Duke of Burgundy Charles the Bold allowed the attachment of the County of Boulogne to the Kingdom of France, it was included until 1789 in the generality of Amiens. Boulogne has been attacked three times by the English since the Enclave de Calais during the first half of the 16C. It was not until the siege led by Henri II in 1549 and 1550 and the Outreau Treaty, signed on March 24, 1550 for the city to become French again. It was around Boulogne that Napoleon I assembled between 1803 and 1805 the army of the coast of the ocean or “Grande Armée”; The second distribution of the Legion of Honor took place at the Boulogne camp, on August 16, 1804. During the Great War or WWI, the city is far enough from the front to be spared the city served as a cantonment of the allies, in particular the British, but also of rest and care zone, It was in Boulogne that the first American troops, led by Gen John Pershing, landed in France in popular jubilation, on June 13, 1917, Two months after their official entry during WWII, the city was besieged in May 1940 by the Nazis to prevent the transit of soldiers and equipment between France and England. Boulogne was liberated between September 17 and 23, 1944 during operation Wellhit by Canadians who surprised the Nazis when arriving at the heart of the citadel by a secret underground , At the end of the war, Boulogne is destroyed to 85% , The City was decorated with the national order of the Legion of Honor on July 10, 1947, The official Nausicàa : https://www.nausicaa.fr/en The Château Musée de Boulogne : https://musee.boulogne-sur-mer.fr/ The official Crypt of the Basilica Notre Dame of Boulogne sur Mer: https://crypte.boulogne-sur-mer.fr/ The City of Boulogne sur Mer on its history : https://www.ville-boulogne-sur-mer.fr/decouvrir-et-sortir/decouvrir-boulogne/histoire-de-boulogne The Boulogne sur Mer tourist office on its heritage : https://www.boulonnaisautop.com/en/discover/history-heritage There you go folks, another wonderful spot in my road warrior trails of my belle France, This is architecture, history and a lot more ; one of the gems of the Pas de Calais, worth the detour , me think, Again, hope you enjoy this unique post on this is Boulogne sur Mer !!! as I And remember, happy travels , good health and many cheers to all !!!
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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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