Stellio Lestienne, chef at La Matelote in Boulogne’s harbour, shows me his shopping list as we browse the city’s daily morning fish market. Although I’ve been a regular visitor to both Boulogne and the surrounding Hauts-de-France region for about 30 years, this is my first time in the fish market. This makes the idea of a seafood safari along the Côte d’Opale – whose chalky cliffs, sand dunes and forests stretch south from Calais to Le Touquet and beyond – impossible for me to resist. Le Touquet, with its long sandy beaches, pine forests and golf courses loved by Channel-hopping Brits, is my next stop. Hotel l’Atlantic has doubles from €129 room only, Novotel Le Touquet from €128 room only and The Stay Well Hôtel de Fiennes from €160 B&B