Pointe aux Oies

Here you can see nature at its best: the Strait of Calais, seals (!), flora and ... kite surfers as the prevailing south-west wind creates beautiful waves here.
A beautiful view in the horizon of the Fort of Vauban and the villas of Ambleteuse, the beautiful coastline and colorful and high dunes.
The rocks at low tide are the ideal places to go picking mussels. This is done by both the local residents and ... by a huge number of migratory birds.

A touch of history:

- Napoleon III, the last emperor of the French from 1852 - 1870 and nephew of ... Napoleon I, tried in vain to make his return from England with the intention of requisitioning the garrison of Boulogne. Which failed. Hence would come the pronunciation "L'Aigle est devenu oie" (since the eagle was one of the symbols of the Bonapartes).

- Maritime observatory:
The very first laboratory was established in Wimereux in 1874. This villa called "Villa Napoléonette" still exists today at the intersection of Quai Giard and Rue Napoléon :-).
The next lab was inaugurated in 1899 at La Pointe aux Oies 2 steps from the Wimereux racecourse, now the current golf!
This laboratory was destroyed by the Germans in 1942 during the Second World War because it was in the firing line of the artillery based on Fort de la Crêche (between Wimereux and Boulogne) as part of the Atlantic Wall. Wall remnants can still be found on the beach of the eroded coast.
Fun fact: one of the reasons why this maritime lab was established here is because Prof. Alfred Giard indicated that Wimereux was a stop for all trains between Paris and England!
The importance of these labs for maritime zoology was of the highest scientific research, including for Belgian researchers and professors who were guests here.
(Norbertve)

NorbertVe