Berck, Coastal administrative commune in Pas-de-Calais, France
Berck is a commune along the English Channel in the Pas-de-Calais department with over 13 kilometers of sandy beach and dunes reaching 30 meters (98 feet) in height. The settlement divides into an older inland core and a younger coastal quarter that grew around medical institutions during the 19th century.
A small fishing village with roughly 800 people in the year 1301 grew rapidly after the Maritime Hospital opened in 1869 treating patients with tuberculosis. The medical role transformed the settlement into a center of health care, and the hospital remained important well into the 20th century.
The international kite competition each spring brings large swarms of colored flyers over the shoreline while visitors fill the beach with blankets and picnics. The mix of traditional French fishing boats and modern kitesurfers shows how life here unfolds between the sea and new sports.
The beach stretches over a mile wide at low tide and offers plenty of room for walking and beach games, but visitors should know the tide times because the water returns quickly. Several access paths run from the town center down to the sand, and many of them are passable with strollers.
The width of the beach at low tide makes it the broadest coastal stretch along the entire northern French coastline and allows kitesurfers to launch far from shore. As the only place in the department, the commune has held the Blue Flag for years, a sign of clean water and well-kept beaches.
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