Places to visit | web link for bargain shopping

Wines and regional drink specialities

Where to buy wine
From the point of view of what the locals drink (and make), Nord Pas-de-Calais is noted for its beer rather than wine. Nonetheless for British wine-buyers - now there's no "duty-free" sales on the cross-channel ferries, Calais and Nord - Pas de Calais is the nearest place to the UK where you can take advantage of the lower French tax rates on alcohol.

Wine-writer Malcolm Gluck's "SuperPlonk" web site has details of where you can go to find interesting wines to buy, with knowledgeable comments and reviews on each outlet and its stock:
http://www.superplonk.com/calais.

Try also the "DayTripper" directory, which is also regularly updated with cross-channel shopping bargains:
 www.day-tripper.net

 Wine cave in St Omer
Why not travel to the attractive town of Saint-Omer which also has several "caves" where you can taste before you buy?

Other regional specialities
If you want to try other traditional tastes of the region, locally-brewed beer is worth trying if you are a real ale afficionado: they have a special sort of gin; also real old-fashioned lemonades, and a redcurrant aperatif - Perlé de groseille.

Weblink: www.day-tripper.net - the site for day-trippers to CALAIS full of information and links for cross-Channel bargain-hunters on a quick trip. For a modest fee, you can join a members' club for access to regularly updated price comparison surveys of the best bargains around the port and crossing the channel.

Places to visit:
Calais - other things to do (and places to eat) when you are on a wine-buying trip!
Lemonade Factory - Hardinghen nr. Guînes

Related background information
Beer
Gin
Other shopping - factory shops and places to look for bargains
Smuggling - a centuries-old result of high taxes on imported goods

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