Chunnel City is a nickname for the French port city of CALAIS, which is located in the Pas-de-CALAIS department in northern France. It is the closest French port to the United Kingdom and is connected to it by the Channel Tunnel, also known as the Chunnel. The Chunnel is a 50.5 km (31.4 mi) railway tunnel that runs beneath the English Channel, connecting the two countries. CALAIS has been an important port since the Middle Ages and is now a major ferry port for passengers and freight travelling between the UK and mainland Europe.