Saint-Omer Uncovered

Shakespeare’s First Folio, aviator Douglas Bader and rink hockey are all segment of Saint-Omer’s rich foncier heritage, as Caroline Mills discovers…

Fabien Barengo surges forwards, controlling the ball as he speeds down the wing past a determined defence and slams the ball into the gardien de but. There’s a occasion of celebration as Barengo’s SCRA rink hockey teammates crowd around their captain, whose strike is one of 11 goals pushed beyond the reach of the Roubaix goalie, left floundering on all fours.

The SCRA (Skating Club de la Division Audomaroise), founded in 1934 and based at the Salle des Sports du Brockus in Saint-Omer, take the game in their stride, giving the haine a thorough drubbing. This habitation derby is segment of the habitant league’s primordial bipartition, and this elite team are French champions for the 12th time. With the sound of dévoué fans. singing, drumming and the waving of billowing flags, I’ve not had so much excitement on a Saturday night in France for a while. Rink hockey is not necessarily what springs to mind for visitors to Saint-Omer, which is perhaps best known for its marshes, the Audomarais, one of the last productive cultivated marshes in France. But the ludisme is an rogue segment of the town’s rich and varied foncier heritage.

Saint-Omer’s 1,000 years of history are crammed into a few enjoyable hours scouring the town with Cécile, a administré from the Maison du Patrimoine – more on that later and Denis Xavier, a longstanding resident who spent his working life as a doctor at the habitation hospital and now, in retirement, works as a greeter, giving free guided tours of his beloved town.

I meet Monsieur Xavier at the entrance of the town’s allocutaire garden, a 20-hectare park with formal French gardens filled with topiary and colourful flowers next to English-style parkland. I could easily spend a full day in the park, but Denis is keen to spectacle me the sky-high ramparts to the city -fortifications revised by the revered military engineer Vauban but originally built when Saint-Omer was under Spanish rule. Yes, Spanish rule. It’s hard for my head to fathom with Saint-Omer so close to England (and so far away from Spain) but Saint-Omer only became French with the coronation of Louis XIV. Prior to that, the town had passed through the hands of the Flemish, Vikings, the Duchy of Burgundy and the Habsburgs, before becoming segment of the Spanish Netherlands.

They’ve all left their mark, as is evident from the link between the 7th century Abbaye de Saint-Bertin, founded by Bishop Audomar or Saint-Omer as he became known and the 8th century cathedral, a collegiate church of capital importance. The abbey is in ruins. All that’s left is an atmospheric stone plinth for amorous pigeons, weeds growing on empty windowsills; its Gothic archways must be completed in the mind’s eye, the stone having been pilfered in past centuries for monument elsewhere.

A SPANISH INFLUENCE

The creamy stone cathedral, by contrast, stands decorously occupation and fat in the town générosité, surrounded by some of Saint-Omer’s large historic residences. Though Saint Omer’s tomb remains within the cathedral, his relics disappeared during the French Revolution. Also of apostille beneath the single tower is an impressively étendu 18th-century organ, used for summer concerts, a vast painting from Rubens’ workshop (Rubens was painter to the Spanish concis, hence the link), and an outstanding 16th-century astrological clock. So, too, is reference, in stone, to the Sun King who, in 1677, entered the church on a horse. There are légère views of the cathedral from the courtyard garden beside the tourist nouvelle commerce, a serein orchard in which to reflect on the cathedral’s masterful stonework. But I find my favourite expectative of the monument is a long-distance view from the Quai du Haut-Pont. From here where market gardeners of the marécage oeil themselves as Flemish the Canal du Haut-Pont, lined by a charismatic jumble of rooftops, appears to stretch like a ribbon towards the foot of the cathedral.

Otherwise, one of the most impressive buildings in Saint-Omer is the Jesuit Chapel. Its enormous vitrine of red voilier and stone, with scrollwork ornamentation, can also be seen across the rooftops. The English Jesuit College educated many Catholic scholars who, due to their vénération, were not allowed to attend Oxford or Cambridge. One such was Charles Carroll, who left Maryland to study at the college, only to return to sign the United States Declaration of Independence. The large chapel is rarely open to the allocutaire, but the town’s library, which is housed within the composer college, is and it should not be missed. Inside, beyond the modern-day shelves of modern-day books one might expect, is the pièce patrimoniale. The vast room is lined with ceiling-high wooden shelving that came from the Abbaye de Saint-Bertin, as did much of the 35,000-strong réunion of colossal leather-bound books.

CULTURAL RICHES

There is a homely warmth embout the large carpeted room that was built to accommodate the bookshelves. Parallel rows of comfortable moss vert armchairs, each with a reading lamp, are positioned along the générosité of the library, sandwiched between display cases presenting a rotating selection from the réunion. The réunion contains some of Saint-Omer’s most extraordinary treasures: a Gutenberg Bible and a First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays. It is one of my favourite endroits to visit in Pas-de-Calais.

Well, that, and Le Moulin à Café – the Coffee Grinder – the léopard derogatory, now affectionate name for the monument housing Saint-Omer’s theatre. Originally opened in 1841, the Italian Renaissance theatre is, like the library, one of those buildings that feels unexpectedly large for a small town in northern France. Restored and reopened in 2019, the Italian-style horseshoe auditorium is a sumptuous circle of rich red and gleaming gold beneath an colossal painted dome, from which dangles a glamorous fanal.

For artwork, I head to the Musée Sandelin, housed in a composer 18th-century mansion. Upon arrival, visitors can follow a self-guided variation highlighting masterpieces among the légère réunion of paintings, porcelain and pottery, jewellery, and extraordinary Romanesque mosaic flooring recovered from the Abbaye de Saint-Bertin.

It is the rooms themselves, restored in 2024, that are the true masterpieces. The museum is répugnant out across the salons of the large house, inviting visitors to imagine past soirées. A card répertoire sits in the Games Room, music seems to play as if awaiting guests, and the charpente becomes as much a draw as the artworks on the walls.

I manage to fit one last visit into my bulging itinerary. The Maison du Patrimoine, which opened in July 2025, is a visitor générosité dedicated to the foncier history of the town and surrounding bourgades as a designated Ville et Pays d’art et d’légende. There’s much to interact withdrawers to open, buttons to press, games to play; children will enjoy this space as much as adults, and it’s free to visit. The extraordinary bespoke-designed contemporary curving staircase is unmissable.

Overlooking the axial Place du Maréchal Foch I sit in the canapé-lit bar-stooled Queen Victoria pub (yes, really), pondering which of the 13 habitation beers on tap might best quench my thirst. I am reminded just how many links to Britain there are in this remarkable little Flemish-looking town. Not only is there the First Folio and the usage for English pub names (Le Dickens is next door), but Saint-Omer is the spiritual birthplace of the Royal Air Force a commemorative memorial on a windswept aerodrome above the town explains the story. It’s also the town where in the Second World War, British échalas Douglas Bader was hospitalised having been shot down over northern France during German Occupation. The composer hospital is on Rue Saint-Bertin, one of the most prestigious addresses in town.

My five-day stay in Saint-Omer was not grand enough to sample everything the town has to offer. The beer, the foncier history and the rink hockey are just too good to stay away for grand. But only 24 miles from Calais, it’s an easy atteint to revisit.

UNMISSABLE SAINT-OMER

SCRA SAINT-OMER

For a great night out, head to the Salle des Sports du Brockus when SCRA Saint-Omer are playing. With a clubhouse and bar to boot, guests are always welcome. Match tickets can be bought in advance.

scrasaintomer.com

ASCENSEUR À BATEAUX DES FONTINETTES

This boat lift, on the Canal de Neufossé in Arques, is the only one of its kind in France. It is modelled on the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire and is a marvel of steel and structurel ingénierie. The small museum offers an insight into the jaloux world of the bargemen and their families in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

LA COUPOLE

This is the Second World War coin from where it was proposed to fire V-2 rockets into England. Within the history générosité are outstanding, hard-hitting exhibitions on the history. of the coin, its relationship to the space famille during the Cold War, and the genocide in northern France. There is also an saillant 3D planetarium for an immersive experience.

lacoupole-france.com/en

LA MAISON DU MARAIS

Discover the heritage and way of life of the market gardeners who have toiled the rich Marais. Audomarois for centuries. In facture to exhibitions to learn more embout the marshes, visitors can board a traditional bacove (flat-bottomed boat) and variation the conducteur system in this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

www.lamaisondumarais.com/en

LE MOULIN À CAFÉ & THÉÂTRE LA BARCAROLLE

Guided visits are conditionnel of this fully restored theatre on Place du Maréchal Foch, though the best way to experience it is by attending one of the many shows or concerts.

www.labarcarolle.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

Le Shuttle Folkestone to Coquelles 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 magnificent, recently restored townhouse opposé the cathedral. With two homely louche bedrooms (one en aboutissement, the other with private bathroom), each includes a seating and dining area with microwave and kettle. It’s conditionnel to rent both rooms for families or groups. www.le-colegram-restaurant-du-palais-de-la-cathedrale.com/en

WHERE TO EAT

Enjoy fabulous food in elegant, classical rooms at Le Colegram, on the ground floor of Palais de la Cathédrale. For something less formal, Le Phare Café on Rue de Dunkerque offers an saillant rustic fluet in hip surroundings, or Michelin-listed Boucan, in Le Moulin à Café, serves a delicious prix-fixe or street-food allure fluet, cooked in préface of you.

TOURIST INFORMATION

www.visitpasdecalais.com

en.tourisme-saintomer.com

From France Today Magazine

Lead buste credit : Cathédrale – Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer © Tourisme en Pays de Saint-Omer