Beach, sailing, bike rides, dunes, parks, ice cream and markets: 15 ideas for being outdoors, with distances from the apartments. Filter by age, who you are with and your budget.
On the North Sea coast a sunny day is one to savour: head for the beach, hire a bike, treat yourself to a couque suisse or an ice cream on the seafront. Here are our ideas for being outdoors, from the closest (the beach is under 100 metres away) to the furthest (Gravelines, half an hour away). Pack a windbreaker, as the wind picks up quickly on the coast.
Prices and opening hours are indicative and may change, especially during the school holidays. Always check on the venue's own website before you set off. Many places close one or two days a week.
The map covers both pages: one layer for rainy-day activities, another for fine-weather ones, plus our apartments at 37 rue de la Colline. In the map menu you can show or hide each layer.
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Malo's big sandy beach, less than 100 metres from the apartments. Wide at low tide, gentle for children, with the promenade right behind for an ice cream or a coffee. A lifeguard post is open in season.
Sailing, land sailing, paddleboarding, kayaking, kitesurfing and coastal walking at the end of the seafront, with courses from age 5 in the school holidays. Land sailing is much easier to pick up than you would think.
In the heart of Malo-les-Bains, between the beach and the dunes, the Licorne centre is home to the Dunes de Flandre sailing school as well as several nautical clubs (DYC, Les Albatros, DFC Kiteboarding, Opale Longe-côte, Mer et Rencontres, ASTNL 59...). Activities include sailing, land yachting, longe-côte (shallow-water walking, suitable for all levels), paddleboarding, kitesurfing, windsurfing, catamaran sailing and kayaking. The centre is a certified French Sailing School, and offers adapted equipment (VéloPouss, Tiralo) for people with disabilities.
A word about sand yachting, since it is the question we get most often: it is far easier to pick up than it looks. A few words from the instructors and you are already rolling, carried by the wind. Because you sit very close to the ground, the sense of speed is enormous even though you are not going that fast. Genuinely accessible to everyone, and the feeling is fantastic.
Guided boat trips around the port and out at sea, from April to September: port tour, sea cruise and a sunset aperitif cruise, the one we recommend.
A new way to discover the port and coastline of Dunkirk: hop aboard the Plucket, a 145-seat boat (indoor and outdoor areas, onboard bar), for a guided sea excursion, from April to September. Three formats to choose from, each bookable directly online on solkaper-dunkerque.fr.
If you only pick one, go for the sunset drinks cruise. We did it and loved it: the sunset seen from the boat and the relaxed atmosphere on board make it the best time of day to be out at sea.
In case of rain, the tour still goes ahead (sheltered boat). In case of a severe storm, a rescheduling is offered as priority, with at least 24 hours' notice. Online booking is possible up to the last minute, subject to availability.
A huge flat beach where, just after high tide, the sea pulls back and leaves a shallow lagoon hundreds of metres wide. Our tip for families.
Our favourite family tip: on this very wide, flat beach, just after high tide, the water retreats at high speed and forms, for about an hour, a lagoon several hundred metres wide where the water doesn't even reach your knees. A perfect playground with children.
A 300-hectare dune reserve with sheep and goats roaming free and Second World War bunkers along the path. About an hour's walk along the seafront, or take the free C3 bus.
About a 1-hour walk east along the seafront, or free C3 bus to the Leffrinckoucke Plage terminus. A 300-hectare reserve mixing wooded dunes, damp hollows and dry dunes, grazed by free-roaming sheep and goats. The path crosses several WWII bunkers and the nearby Fort des Dunes.
The only national nature reserve in the Nord: 113 hectares of dunes, over 400 plant species and marked trails. Reachable by DK'Bus (line 20).
Between Zuydcoote and Bray-Dunes, accessible by bus (DK'BUS line 20, Mairie Zuydcoote / Les Dunes stop). The only National Nature Reserve in the Nord département, 113 hectares, with over 400 recorded plant species (marram grass, sea buckthorn, sea holly, wild orchids) and discreet wildlife: crested newts, natterjack toads, and the song of the nightingale in spring.
Day bike hire (touring and electric bikes, according to reviews), right next to the Kursaal. Handy for riding along the seafront or out to the dunes. Open Thursday to Sunday according to Google, please check before you go.
A large park in Loon-Plage: natural Aqua'Lamé swimming in summer, an animal park with a mini farm, a tree-top adventure course, mini-golf and a fishing pond.
A true green and leisure haven in Loon-Plage, just minutes from Dunkirk. At the heart of the park, Aqua'Lamé offers 1000 m² of freshwater swimming, with no chemicals at all: the water is naturally filtered by reeds and plants, with an inflatable structure for children. The rest of the site is worth the detour: the Maison de la Nature (educational workshops year-round), the Museum of Traditional Games, an animal park with a mini-farm and pony rides, a tree-climbing course, laserwood, a mini-golf and a fishing pond, with an on-site restaurant. Summer events in July-August. More info on parcgalame.org.
Swim shorts are not allowed (fitted swimwear only).
A military fort from 1906 turned into a 10-hectare leisure base: six tree-top courses, hanging nets, a climbing wall, the Quick-Jump and the Tubby-Jump. The closest to Malo.
The closest to Malo, and probably the most spectacular. This military fort, built between 1906 and 1908 to defend Dunkirk, was transformed in 2019 into a 10-hectare leisure park run by the City of Dunkirk. On offer: 124 stations spread over 2800 metres of trails, six tree-climbing courses of increasing difficulty (including two green ones for beginners), a huge area of suspended nets and treehouses, a self-belay climbing wall, the Quick-Jump (a 12-metre free fall with harness) and the Tubby-Jump (giant slide followed by a dive into an XXL airbag). Children under 11 must be accompanied. Depending on the season, the site also hosts a life-size escape game ("Fort Aeternum"), a vintage campsite, a makers' market or open-air cinema nights. Info and prices on fort-aventures-dunkerque.fr.
The Dunkirk speciality: a soft brioche roll filled with custard and chocolate chips, on the seafront three minutes on foot away. Open in the afternoon and closed on Tuesdays according to Google, please check.
One of the ice cream parlours on the seafront, two minutes on foot from the apartments, for a cone after the beach. Opening hours vary a lot with the season and the weather.
An ice cream parlour at the western end of the seafront, about ten minutes on foot. Homemade ice cream and sorbets according to reviews, open in the afternoon and closed on some weekdays according to Google.
An ice cream parlour at the eastern end of the seafront, eight minutes on foot, with a terrace on the beach according to reviews: ice cream, waffles and drinks.
The market on place Turenne, every Tuesday morning: fruit and vegetables, butcher and deli, fishmonger, roast chickens. Mind the parking on Tuesdays, the square fills up.
Place Turenne, every Tuesday from 8am to 1pm, a few minutes' walk from the apartment
The city's biggest market, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Right next door, the Halles des Sœurs Blanches (producers and snacks) open almost every day according to Google. Reachable by free DK'Bus.
Place du Général de Gaulle & Cours François Bart, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8am to 2pm (the largest, up to 160 stalls on Saturdays)
Two self-contained apartments at 37 rue de la Colline, a minute from the seafront. Loucé has a private terrace for the bright spells, Adélise a bathtub and a washing machine for the days the sky never lifts.