Highlights of Northern France – NEW TOUR

Depart the UK

Travel to Dover and take the ferry to Calais or Dunkerque.  Upon disembarkation continue to Lille (or Arras) for 3 nights.  Dinner will be together at the hotel this evening.

Lille and Art Deco Swimming Pool

Meet up with a local guide in Lille for a walking tour.  Starting at the heart of city, the Grand Place, La Vielle Bourse (the old stock exchange) is arguably Lille’s most beautiful building, on the other side is the stunning Opera and the Belfry of the Chamber of Commerce, the landmark of the city.  After the tour, explore the old town with its cobbled streets, trendy boutiques and historic buildings and get some lunch.

Make the short drive to Roubaix to a gem of a museum that used to be a municipal swimming pool. This splendid Art Deco building closed its doors in 1985, to be replaced in 2001 by La Piscine – Musée d’art et d’industrie.  The highlight is the yellow and orange ‘sunrise’ stained glass window overlooking the sculpture garden set alongside the pool’s water.  You can also explore Roubaix’s industrial past through the museum’s collections.

This evening enjoy dinner together in a local ‘estaminet’ – the name given to local restaurants serving hearty Flemish food best enjoyed with a local beer!  Return to the hotel.

Arras and WW1 Memorial Sites

Make a tour of Wellington Tunnels, a network of underground barracks that housed up to 24,000 soldiers and located only a few meters from the front line from where they rushed onto the battlefield on 09 April 1917 launching a surprise attack on the Germans.   The tunnels were created by New Zealander soldiers to connect the city’s medieval chalk quarries.

After some free time to explore Arras and have some lunch, meet up with a local specialised guide and make the short journey to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Visitor Centre to gain an insight into how some of the world’s most recognisable war memorials are maintained.  Watch headstones being engraved and get an overview of the metal and carpentry workshops and visit the exhibition centre.  From here, continue to the UNESCO site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, dominated by the statue of Mother Canada, which honours soldiers who lost their lives in WW1 at the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  In the visitor centre, the exhibition highlights the daily life during the Great War through personal items, written accounts and sound immersions.

On the return, make a stop at the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette ‘Ring of Rememberance’ – the national cemetery where the names of 600,000 fallen soldiers from all nationalities are engraved on the circular wall.  The History Centre gives an understanding of the scale of the conflict with historical object, films and maps and over 300 photographs (many taken by the soldiers themselves).

Return to the UK

Drive to Calais or Dunkerque and take the ferry across to Dover, and home

Local Beer and Cheese Tasting – Arras:

Taken in the Boves, the limestone quarries of Arras that are over 1000 years old. Includes 3 local craft beers and 3 cheeses from Hauts-de-France region

Louvre Museum – Lens:

A branch of the famous Louvre Paris museum, opened in 2012 in the middle of a former coal mine site in Lens and part of the UNESCO mining basin.  Works of art from all parts of the world.

Palais des Beaux Arts – Lille:

A treasure trove of important art including masterpieces by Rubens.