Northern France is full of great attractions, from walled cities to great museums, from the Louvre-Lens to the Calais Lace Museum. Read on to learn more about these attractions, plus great places to stay during your visit.
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The luminary
Direction
99 Rue Paul Bert, 62300 Lens, FranceGet directions
Telephone
+33 3 21 18 62 62
Web
Visit the website
The Louvre-Lens, opened in December 2012, is one of France’s impressive schemes. It was designed to send great works of art from Paris to this region of France and also to revive the Lens fortune. The old mining town fell into hard times after the mines closed and the area has had a bleak few decades. But being so close to Lille, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK, the idea is to revitalize the area as much as the Center Pompidou did in Metz, in Lorraine.
The Louvre-Lens is housed in a striking low building with different galleries spread out from the center. Inside, you are offered works of art from 3,500 BC. Until the middle of the 19th century, which is an ambitious scheme. The main exhibition shows masterpieces from each era; There is a second exhibition hall and a large temporary exhibition that changes annually.
Allow at least half a day if you can see both exhibits. Lens itself is a city with some surprisingly good Art Deco buildings, and it’s worth a stroll. Otherwise, there is a lot in the area to see.
Louvre-Lens
Lens
Nord Pas de Calais
Where to stay
One possibility is to stay in the vicinity of Lille or Arras.
For a more local option, try the Hotel Lensotel at Vendin Le Vieil, just north of Lens. The good-sized rooms are decorated in bright, modern colors; The bathrooms are well equipped. There is a pool and free wifi. Rooms start at 90 euros per night. There is a good restaurant overlooking the lovely large garden. Menus start at 20 euros per person.
Hotel Lensotel
Canadians Street
Vendin The Old
Phone: 00 33 (0) 3 21 79 36 36
02
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The lace museum in Calais
Direction
135 Quai du Commerce, 62100 Calais, FranciaGet directions
Telephone
+33 3 21 00 42 30
Web
Visit the website
The past comes to life in this museum, which is as much about fashion as it is about lace making. It starts with the delicate hand-made lace worn only by the aristocracy, then moves on to the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century when looms had to be smuggled into France from neighboring England to escape punitive laws on industrial espionage.
The story continues to this day with designers like Christian Dior and ‘New Look’. Lace making machines, videos showing the long and complex process and a host of beautiful dresses and accessories fill the former collective lace factory in Calais.
Where to stay
The Meurice is a charming old-fashioned hotel with good-sized rooms from 92 euros, a well-regarded restaurant, and a pleasant night bar. It is on a quiet side street, just off Rue Royale, which is lined with restaurants.
The hotel Meurice
5 E-Rock
Phone: 00 33 (0) 3 21 34 57 03
03
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The Flanders museum in Cassel
Direction
26 Grand ‘Place, 59670 Cassel, FranciaGet directions
Telephone
+33 3 59 73 45 59
Web
Visit the website
Charming little Cassel sits high up in the plain that stretches to Belgium. The pretty village has a large and imposing square, a great hotel and a charming windmill and local estaminet, and it is worth spending the night. But the blockbuster here is the Flanders Museum. The museum highlights the depth, richness and variety of Flanders’ cultural and artistic identity. It is housed in the splendid Hôtel de la Noble-Cour and, apart from the interesting permanent collection, organizes a number of excellent temporary exhibitions.
Where to stay
Originally a small 18th-century castle, the Chatellerie de Schoebeque offers a delightful combination of just 15 rooms, from the Edith Piaf-inspired room to a gypsy caravan in the garden. Rooms cost around 180 euros per night and the restaurant has views of the countryside.
Schoebeque castle
32 rue Foch
Phone: 00 33 (0) 3 28 42 42 67
04
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Museo Matisse in Le Cateau-Cambresis
Direction
Palais Fénelon, Place du Commandant Edouard Richez, 59360 Le Cateau-Cambrésis, FranceGet directions
Telephone
+33 3 59 73 38 00
Web
Visit the website
Henri Matisse was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, in northern France, and it was the influence of textile design that he saw in his daily life that would demonstrate such an influence on his work.
The museum, in the former Archbishop’s Palace Fénelon, shows how Matisse developed and changed as an artist. It contains a wide variety of his work and includes room settings such as The Works of Auguste Herbin, born in 1882 in a village near Le Cateau, and the magazines and books published by the editor-poet, Tériade, add two more collections.
Where to stay
Le Clos St-Jacques is a quiet chambre d’hote in the center of Cambrai, located a short distance to the northwest. All rooms are different so you can sleep in a rustic or romantic room. The 4 rooms cost around 100 euros per night including breakfast. There is no restaurant but there are many nearby.
The Clos St-Jacques
9, rue St Jacques
59400 Cambrai
Phone: 00 33 (0) 3 27 74 37 61
05
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La Coupole surrounds St-Omer
Direction
Rue André Clabaux, 62570 Wizernes, FranciaGet directions
Telephone
+33 3 21 12 27 27
Web
Visit the website
Built in WWII as a launch pad for Hitler’s V2 rockets that were designed to wipe out London and Antwerp, La Coupole is a monster, a massive concrete dome near St-Omer and the French coast. But inside it is one of the best museums in the country. It tells the story of the occupation of France, the Holocaust and concentration camps like Auschwitz, and the accumulation of the German war machine. Featuring movies, interactive exhibits, and artifacts, it takes you through WWII and the Cold War and the Space Race with its triumphs and disasters.
Where to stay
Stay close to Saint-Omer at Chateau Tilques . The now sprawling 19th century red brick castle sits in a charming park with swans and peacocks. Comfortable and well decorated rooms with chintz in the foreground in the main building and more modern decor in the annex. There is also a good restaurant.
Chateau Tilques
Tilques
Tel .: 00 33 (0) 9.70.38.40.69
06
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Nausicaa Sea Center in Boulogne-sur-Mer
Direction
Boulevard Sainte-Beuve, 62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer, FranciaGet directions
Telephone
+33 3 21 30 99 99
Web
Visit the website
The Nausicaa Sealife Center in Boulogne has it all: a shark tunnel, a lagoon, and an open-air sea lion preserve where agile creatures perform. And don’t miss the beautiful Perspex column filled with graceful jellyfish.
There is a serious purpose behind all attractive displays, which is to teach all of us, and particularly the young, why we must respect and protect the seas around our shores. But everything is so well done that it entertains you as much as it is polite.
Where to stay
The charming Chambres d’hote (bed and breakfast), L’Enclos de L’Evêché is located within the medieval walls of the old town. The five large bedrooms are decorated differently and all have excellent bathrooms. Either you look over your yard or at the ramparts in the distance. Excellent restaurant quite expensive and excellent breakfast.
The Enclosure of L’Evêché
6 rue de Pressy
Phone: 03 91 90 05 90
07
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Wilfred Owen Memorial en Ors
Direction
59360 Ors, FranceGet directions
Interest in World War I is enormous with commemorations of the war that began in 2014. Particularly moving is the harsh, impressive and moving Memorial to the Poet Soldier, Wilfred Owen. It is in a clearing in the woods and has been built around the old ranger house where Owen and his fellow soldiers spent their last night.
Where to stay
Try near Cambrai and Le Clos St-Jacques , recommended above.
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The Compiegne Palace in Picardy
Direction
Place du Général de Gaulle, 60200 Compiegne, FranceGet directions
Telephone
+33 3 44 38 47 00
Web
Visit the website
In the 17th century, Louis XIV decided that Compiegne was the perfect distance from Paris to become the playground of kings of France. The royal family and their friends flocked to hunt, party and dance the night away. It was the place where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of Austria met. After the Revolution, Napoleon decided to follow the royal example and the Palace was restored in an extravagant style.
It is a charming place, quite tame and now a bit dusty and faded, but very pleasant to visit. In addition to the spacious historic apartments, there is a museum of historical vehicles that is quite comprehensive, encompassing Napoleon III’s train car and a De Dion-Bouton from 1898.
Where to stay
The Hotel des Beaux-Arts is next to the river and close to the city center. It has comfortable rooms, some with river views, and a good Bistro restaurant,
Hotel Les Beaux-Arts
33 Guynemer courses
Phone: 00 33 (0) 3 44 92 26 26
09
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The armistice memorial in the heart of the Compiegne forest
Direction
Carrefour de l’Armistice, 60200 Compiègne, FranceGet directions
The forest stretches west from Compiègne, a large strip of tall trees and paths. It is a beautiful place to walk. It is also the site of the impressive Armistice Memorial at the Clairiere de l’Armistice right in the middle.
Park in a small car park and walk along a wooded path and you’re in an extraordinary clearing. In front of you, railway tracks lead to the center of the memorial, tracks that were used to bring two railway carriages here in 1918. The Museum is housed in a small white building. Inside is a replica of the railway carriage where Marshal Foch and his officers, met with the Germans to sign the Armistice to end World War I. It was signed on November 11th at 5.10am.
The museum covers both World War I and World War II, with objects, old films and newspapers from Raleigh, Virginia, where many US soldiers came from.
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La Piscine Museum of Art and Industry in Roubaix
Address
23 Rue de l’Esperance, 59100 Roubaix, FranceGet directions
Phone
+33 3 20 69 23 60
Web
Visit website
The Museum of Art and Industry is housed in a former swimming bath complex, hence its name of La Piscine (swimming pool). The museum covers fine and applied art, with pa from 1927-1932 in flamboyant Art Deco style. It was modeled around the Abbey of Cluny with a cloister and garden in the center and a chapel and restaurant, reflecting the old refectory idea.
Where to Stay
Roubaix is effectively a suburb of Lille, one of the liveliest cities in northern France. If you are pushing the boat, go to L’Hermitage Gantois. It is in a former hospice, founded in 1460. It is very beautiful with interior courtyards and magnificent rooms. There is also a gastronomic restaurant and a good more informal restaurant.
L. Hermitage Gantois
224 Paris Street
Phone: 00 33 (0) 3 20 85 30 30
