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The quiet cobbled streets of the ville haute make a pleasant respite from the noise and congestion of the ville basse . Within the walls, the Basilique Notre-Dame (closed for 2hr around noon, except during July & Aug) is an odd building - raised in the nineteenth century by the town's vicar, without any architectural knowledge or advice - yet it seems to work. In the vast and labyrinthine crypt (Tues-Sun 2-5pm; 8F/¬1.22) you can see frescoed remains of the Romanesque building and relics of a Roman temple to Diana. In the main part of the church sits a bizarre white statue of the Virgin and Child on a boat-chariot, drawn here on its own wheels from Lourdes over the course of six years during a pilgrimage in the 1940s.

Nearby, the Château Musée (Mon & Wed-Sat 10am-12.30pm & 2-5pm, Sun 10am-12.30pm & 2.30-5.30pm; 20F/¬3.05) has Egyptian funerary objects donated by a local-born Egyptologist and a good collection of Greek pots. Alternatively, you can climb up the most ancient monument in the old town, the twelfth-century belfry (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-noon; free; access via the Hôtel de Ville), attached to the Hôtel de Ville, at the other end of rue de Lille from the Basilique, or stroll round along the medieval walls , decked out with rosebeds, gravel paths and benches for picnicking, with impressive views over the town and port.

Outside the ville haute the place to head for is the town's smart new aquarium at the Centre National de la Mer, or Nausicaá , on boulevard Sainte-Beuve (daily: July & Aug 9.30am-8pm; rest of year 9.30am-6.30pm; closed 3 weeks in Jan; 68F/¬10.37). Ultraviolet lighting and New Age music create a suitably weird ambience, while hammerhead sharks circle overhead and giant conger eels conceal themselves in rusty pipes - definitely not for piscophobes. There's plenty of educational stuff, too (in French and English throughout), and a half-hour film show, though only a passing nod towards environmental issues.

Three kilometres north of Boulogne on the N1 stands the Colonne de la Grande Armée , where, in 1803, Napoléon is said to have changed his mind about invading Britain and turned his troops east towards Austria. The column was originally topped by a bronze figure of Napoléon symbolically clad in Roman garb - though his head, equally symbolically, was shot off by the British navy during World War II. It is now displayed in the Château Musée.