18 m. E.S.E. of Dover, and 185 m. N. of Paris
by the Northern railway. Pop. (1906) 59,623. Calais, formerly a celebrated
fortress, is defended by four forts, not of modern construction, by a
citadel built in 1560, which overlooks it on the west, and by batteries.
The old town stands on an island hemmed in by the canal and the harbour
basins, which divide it from the much more extensive manufacturing quarter
of St Pierre, enveloping it on the east and south. The demolition of the
ramparts of Old Calais was followed by the construction of a new circle of
defences, embracing both the old and new quarters, and strengthened by a
deep moat. In the centre of the old town is the Place d'Armes, in which
stands the former hotel-de-ville (rebuilt in 1740, restored in 1867), with
busts of Eustache de St Pierre, Francis, duke of Guise, and Cardinal
Richelieu. The belfry belongs to the 16th and early 17th century. Close by
is the Tour du Guet, or watch-tower, used as a lighthouse until 1848. The
church of Notre-Dame, built during the English occupancy of Calais, has a
[v.04 p.0966] fine high altar of the 17th century; its lofty tower serves
as a landmark for sailors. A gateway flanked by turrets (14th century) is a
relic of the Hotel de Guise, built as a gild hall for the English
woolstaplers, and given to the duke of Guise as a reward for the recapture
of Calais. The modern town-hall and a church of the 19th century are the
chief buildings of the quarter of St Pierre. Calais has a board of
trade-arbitrators, a tribunal and a chamber of commerce, a commercial and
industrial school, and a communal college.

The harbour is entered from the roads by way of a channel leading to the
outer harbour which communicates with a floating basin 22 acres in extent,
on the east, and with the older and less commodious portion of the harbour
to the north and west of the old town. The harbour is connected by canals
with the river Aa and the navigable waterways of the department.

Calais is the principal port for the continental passenger traffic with
England carried on by the South-Eastern & Chatham and the Northern of
France railways. The average number of passengers between Dover and Calais
for the years 1902-1906 inclusive was 315,012. Trade is chiefly with the
United Kingdom. The principal exports are wines, especially champagne,
spirits, hay, straw, wool, potatoes, woven goods, fruit, glass-ware, lace
and metal-ware. Imports include cotton and sil