Saint-Omer Uncovered – France Today | EUROtoday

Shakespeare’s First Folio, aviator Douglas Bader and rink hockey are all a part of Saint-Omer’s wealthy cultural heritage, as Caroline Mills discovers…

Fabien Barengo surges forwards, controlling the ball as he speeds down the wing previous a decided protection and slams the ball into the objective. There’s a second of celebration as Barengo’s SCRA rink hockey teammates crowd round their captain, whose strike is one among 11 objectives pushed past the attain of the Roubaix goalie, left floundering on all fours.

The SCRA (Skating Club de la Région Audomaroise), based in 1934 and primarily based on the Salle des Sports du Brockus in Saint-Omer, take the sport of their stride, giving the opposition an intensive drubbing. This native derby is a part of the nationwide league’s premier division, and this elite crew are French champions for the twelfth time. With the sound of loyal followers. singing, drumming and the waving of billowing flags, I’ve not had a lot pleasure on a Saturday night time in France for some time. Rink hockey will not be essentially what springs to thoughts for guests to Saint-Omer, which is maybe finest identified for its marshes, the Audomarais, one of many final productive cultivated marshes in France. But the game is a vital a part of the city’s wealthy and different cultural heritage.

Saint-Omer’s 1,000 years of historical past are crammed into a couple of satisfying hours scouring the city with Cécile, a information from the Maison du Patrimoine – extra on that later and Denis Xavier, a longstanding resident who spent his working life as a health care provider on the native hospital and now, in retirement, works as a greeter, giving free guided excursions of his beloved city.

I meet Monsieur Xavier on the entrance of the city’s public backyard, a 20-hectare park with formal French gardens stuffed with topiary and colourful flowers subsequent to English-style parkland. I may simply spend a full day within the park, however Denis is eager to point out me the sky-high ramparts to town -fortifications revised by the revered army engineer Vauban however initially constructed when Saint-Omer was underneath Spanish rule. Yes, Spanish rule. It’s onerous for my head to fathom with Saint-Omer so near England (and so distant from Spain) however Saint-Omer solely grew to become French with the coronation of Louis XIV. Prior to that, the city had handed by way of the palms of the Flemish, Vikings, the Duchy of Burgundy and the Habsburgs, earlier than changing into a part of the Spanish Netherlands.

They’ve all left their mark, as is obvious from the hyperlink between the seventh century Abbaye de Saint-Bertin, based by Bishop Audomar or Saint-Omer as he grew to become identified and the eighth century cathedral, a collegiate church of notable stature. The abbey is in ruins. All that is left is an atmospheric stone plinth for amorous pigeons, weeds rising on empty windowsills; its Gothic archways have to be accomplished within the thoughts’s eye, the stone having been pilfered in previous centuries for constructing elsewhere.

A SPANISH INFLUENCE

The creamy stone cathedral, in contrast, stands decorously squat and fats within the city middle, surrounded by a few of Saint-Omer’s grand historic residences. Though Saint Omer’s tomb stays throughout the cathedral, his relics disappeared through the French Revolution. Also of be aware beneath the one tower is an impressively massive 18th-century organ, used for summer season concert events, an unlimited portray from Rubens’ workshop (Rubens was painter to the Spanish court docket, therefore the hyperlink), and an excellent Sixteenth-century astrological clock. So, too, is reference, in stone, to the Sun King who, in 1677, entered the church on a horse. There are high-quality views of the cathedral from the courtyard backyard beside the vacationer info workplace, a quiet orchard by which to mirror on the cathedral’s masterful stonework. But I discover my favourite perspective of the constructing is a long-distance view from the Quai du Haut-Pont. From right here the place market gardeners of the marshes regard themselves as Flemish the Canal du Haut-Pont, lined by a charismatic jumble of rooftops, seems to stretch like a ribbon in direction of the foot of the cathedral.

Otherwise, one of the vital spectacular buildings in Saint-Omer is the Jesuit Chapel. Its huge facade of purple brick and stone, with scrollwork ornamentation, can be seen throughout the rooftops. The English Jesuit College educated many Catholic students who, resulting from their faith, weren’t allowed to attend Oxford or Cambridge. One such was Charles Carroll, who left Maryland to review on the faculty, solely to return to signal the United States Declaration of Independence. The grand chapel isn’t open to the general public, however the city’s library, which is housed throughout the former faculty, is and it shouldn’t be missed. Inside, past the modern-day cabinets of modern-day books one would possibly count on, is the heritage room. The huge room is lined with ceiling-high wood shelving that got here from the Abbaye de Saint-Bertin, as did a lot of the 35,000-strong assortment of immense leather-bound books.

CULTURAL RICH

There is a homely heat concerning the grand carpeted room that was constructed to accommodate the bookshelves. Parallel rows of snug moss inexperienced armchairs, every with a studying lamp, are positioned alongside the middle of the library, sandwiched between show circumstances presenting a rotating choice from the gathering. The assortment comprises a few of Saint-Omer’s most extraordinary treasures: a Gutenberg Bible and a First Folio of Shakespeare’s performs. It is one among my favourite locations to go to in Pas-de-Calais.

Well, that, and Le Moulin à Café – the Coffee Grinder – the as soon as derogatory, now affectionate identify for the constructing housing Saint-Omer’s theater. Originally opened in 1841, the Italian Renaissance theater is, just like the library, a type of buildings that feels unexpectedly grand for a small city in northern France. Restored and reopened in 2019, the Italian-style horseshoe auditorium is a luxurious circle of wealthy purple and gleaming gold beneath an immense painted dome, from which dangles a glamorous chandelier.

For art work, I head to the Sandelin Museum, housed in a former 18th-century mansion. Upon arrival, guests can comply with a self-guided tour highlighting masterpieces among the many high-quality assortment of work, porcelain and pottery, jewellery, and extraordinary Romanesque mosaic flooring recovered from the Abbaye de Saint-Bertin.

It is the rooms themselves, restored in 2024, which might be the true masterpieces. The museum is laid out throughout the salons of the grand home, inviting guests to think about previous evenings. A card desk sits within the Games Room, music appears to play as if awaiting friends, and the structure turns into as a lot a draw because the artworks on the partitions.

I handle to make one final go to into my bulging itinerary. The Maison du Patrimoine, which opened in July 2025, is a customer middle devoted to the cultural historical past of the city and surrounding villages as a delegated Ville et Pays d’artwork et d’histoire. There’s a lot to work together withdrawers to open, buttons to press, video games to play; kids will get pleasure from this area as a lot as adults, and it is free to go to. The extraordinary bespoke-designed up to date curving staircase is unmissable.

Overlooking the central Place du Maréchal Foch I sit within the cozy bar-stooled Queen Victoria pub (sure, actually), pondering which of the 13 native beers on faucet would possibly finest quench my thirst. I’m reminded simply what number of hyperlinks to Britain there are on this exceptional little Flemish-looking city. Not solely is there the First Folio and the style for English pub names (Le Dickens is subsequent door), however Saint-Omer is the religious birthplace of the Royal Air Force a commemorative memorial on a windswept aerodrome above the city explains the story. It’s additionally the city the place within the Second World War, British pilot Douglas Bader was hospitalized having been shot down over northern France throughout German Occupation. The former hospital is on Rue Saint-Bertin, one of the vital prestigious addresses on the town.

My five-day keep in Saint-Omer was not lengthy sufficient to pattern all the things the city has to supply. The beer, the cultural historical past and the rink hockey are simply too good to remain away for lengthy. But solely 24 miles from Calais, it is a simple place to revisit.

UNMISSABLE SAINT-OMER

SCRA SAINT-OMER

For an excellent night time out, head to the Salle des Sports du Brockus when SCRA Saint-Omer are enjoying. With a clubhouse and bar besides, friends are all the time welcome. Match tickets may be purchased upfront.

scrasaintomer.com

FONTINETTES BOAT LIFT

This boat elevate, on the Canal de Neufossé in Arques, is the one one among its form in France. It is modeled on the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire and is a marvel of metal and structural engineering. The small museum presents an perception into the distinctive world of the bargemen and their households within the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

THE DOME

This is the Second World War website from the place it was proposed to fireplace V-2 rockets into England. Within the historical past middle are excellent, hard-hitting exhibitions on the historical past. of the location, its relationship to the area race through the Cold War, and the genocide in northern France. There can be a wonderful 3D planetarium for an immersive expertise.

lacoupole-france.com/en

THE HOUSE OF THE MARAIS

Discover the heritage and lifestyle of the market gardeners who’ve canvassed the wealthy Marais. Audomarois for hundreds of years. In addition to exhibitions to study extra concerning the marshes, guests can board a conventional bacove (flat-bottomed boat) and tour the canal system on this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

www.lamaisondumarais.com/en

THE COFFEE MILL & THEATER LA BARCAROLLE

Guided visits are attainable of this absolutely restored theater on Place du Maréchal Foch, although one of the best ways to expertise it’s by attending one of many many exhibits or concert events.

www.labarcarole.org

SAINT-OMER ESSENTIALS

GETTING THERE BY TRAIN

Take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Lille-Europe. Lille-Flandres to Saint-Omer is 3h 20m; Paris Gare du Nord to Saint-Omer is 2h 20m.

BY CAR

The Folkestone to Coquelles Shuttle or DFDS, P&O Ferries. or Irish Ferries Dover to Calais, then A26 to Saint-Omer.

WHERE TO STAY

Palais de la Cathédrale is a powerful, not too long ago restored townhouse reverse the cathedral. With two domestically double bedrooms (one en suite, the opposite with personal toilet), every features a seating and eating space with microwave and kettle. It’s attainable to hire each rooms for households or teams. www.le-colegram-restaurant-du-palais-de-la-cathedrale.com/en

WHERE TO EAT

Enjoy fabulous meals in elegant, classical rooms at Le Colegram, on the bottom flooring of Palais de la Cathédrale. For one thing much less formal, Le Phare Café on Rue de Dunkerque presents a wonderful rustic menu in hip environment, or Michelin-listed Boucan, in Le Moulin à Café, serves a scrumptious prix-fixe or street-food model menu, cooked in entrance of you.

TOURIST INFORMATION

www.visitpasdecalais.com

en.tourisme-saitomer.com

From France Today Magazine

Lead photograph credit score: Cathedral – Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer © Tourism in Pays de Saint-Omer