This Village Is Full Of Houses That Are Made From Inverted Boats

The Equihen Plage is a village on the coast of northern France filled with an interesting history and sea-side culture. The small town has a population of only 3,000 people, and up until the start of the 20th century, it was a fishing village with a dry harbor (i.e. the fishing boats had to be slid on logs to bring them to the sea). Now, the village, known locally as “quilles en l’air”, is a popular holiday destination for its inverted boat houses that serve as a unique form of accommodation.

Back when the village first started, it was pretty common to find both upright and inverted old boats on the coast. They were dragged into the dry land to serve as a living space for the villagers. Even one of Charles Dickens’ novels, David Copperfield, had a character that lived in an old boathouse in Yarmouth (Peggotty’s brother).

It wasn’t just old boats that were turned into houses: even new ones that were unfit for sea were dragged to the ground and turned upside down. The hull which is now the roof was coated in tar to make sure it was waterproof. A door was cut out on the sides of it, and windows were mounted on the walls.

The boats were small though, so an entire boat was only a single room, with spaces for cooking and sleeping needing to be shared.

However, nearly all of the boathouses were destroyed in the Second World War. They carried on its legacy though, as 60 years after their disappearance, the village decided once again to build a bunch of inverted boathouses and added modern facilities in them to attract tourists. Unsurprisingly, it worked, and now the boat houses can be rented at a starting price of 300 euros ($330).

Take a look at some of the boathouses here: