Historic sites
The Wellington Quarry
Digged 20 meters below the surface of Arras (Pas-de-Calais) by New Zealand tunnel boring machines, the Wellington quarry played a crucial role in the Battle of Arras. Up to 24,000 soldiers occupied this underground city stretched over 20 km of galleries while waiting to storm the German armies on June 9, 1917 at 5.30 a.m. Electrical installations, railroads, dormitories ... So much equipment testifying to the ingenuity of Commonwealth soldiers.
Carrière Wellington, rue Arthur Deletoille, 62000 Arras. Phone . : 03 21 51 26 95. Price: from 36 to 60 € per group of two to eight people. Access: Arras station, then a 15-minute walk.
The castle and estate of Chantilly
The Chantilly area (Oise) is located 30 minutes by TER from Paris. Francois - stock.adobe.com
30 minutes by TER from Paris, the domain of Chantilly (Oise) is the Hauts-de-France tourist site closest to the capital. It is better to plan a whole day to visit its castle, its gardens and its museums. The galleries of the castle bring together the second collection of ancient paintings in France after the Louvre. The 115-hectare park has several gardens, including an English garden, an Anglo-Chinese garden and a French garden designed by Le Nôtre. The Grandes Écuries house a Horse Museum and are the venue for equestrian shows and activities. Gourmets will end their visit by trying to assemble the famous whipped cream during workshops organized by the aptly named Brotherhood of Whipping Knights.
Château de Chantilly, 60500 Chantilly. Phone . : 03 44 27 31 80. Price: Domaine ticket at 17 € per adult, 13.50 € per child (7 to 17 years old). Access: from Paris Gare du Nord, TER to Chantilly-Gouvieux (30 minutes) then shuttle. The Hauts-de-France region offers a TER Pack including a return trip to Chantilly (from Paris and any Hauts-de-France station) and entry to the Chantilly area (€ 25 per adult, € 1 per child under 12).
Read also: In the Oise, two bucolic or spectacular routes to recharge your batteries by bike
The Familistère de Guise
In the heart of Thiérache, the Familistère de Guise was the site of innovative social experiments in the 19th century. Familistère de Guise / Karolina Samborska
In 1859, Jean-Baptiste André Godin (1817-1888), creator of Godin cast iron stoves, created near his factory a set of 500 housing units for his workers. Godin himself lived in one of these lodgings which was hardly more comfortable than the others. More than a simple working-class city, the Familistère de Guise (Aisne) is considered a successful social utopia without equivalent in the world. Theater, schools, swimming pool, library ... Equipment intended to promote community life, which the public discovers today with as much fascination as ever.
The Familistère de Guise, place du Familistère, 02120 Guise. Phone. : 03 23 61 35 36. Price: 9 € per adult.
Read also: Hauts-de-France: 3 good reasons to discover the Pays de Thiérache
The dome of Helfaut
A secret underground base built by the Nazi army between 1943 and 1944, the dome of Helfaut (Pas-de-Calais) was to serve as a base for launching V2 rockets towards London. A project fortunately thwarted by the Allies who took possession of the site after the Normandy landings. The imposing concrete building now houses a WWII museum and planetarium. Two tour circuits allow you to discover the secret weapons program and daily life under the Occupation. History buffs will also think of visiting the Eperlecques blockhouse. Located about twenty kilometers away, this site was also to be used for launching V1 and V2 missiles on the British capital.
La Coupole - History center and 3D planetarium, rue André Clabaux, 62570 Wizernes. Phone. : 03 21 88 44 22. Price: 10 € per adult.
Museums
The Louvre-Lens
The Galerie du Temps at the Louvre-Lens museum takes us on a journey through 5,000 years of art and history. Louvre-Lens Museum - Philippe Chancel
The Louvre museum in Lens (Pas-de-Calais) was inaugurated in 2012 on a former coal mining site. The glass and aluminum building occupies a 20-hectare park from which one can see several slag heaps, these artificial hills made up of mining residues. Main exhibition room: the Galerie du Temps, where visitors can explore 5,000 years of art and history through 200 works from the Paris museum. With an average of 450,000 visitors per year, the Louvre-Lens is the third most frequented museum in the region behind the Musée des Confluences in Lyon and the Mucem in Marseille.
Louvre-Lens, 99 rue Paul Bert, 62300 Lens. Phone. : 03 21 18 62 62. Price: free entry to the Galerie du temps and the Glass Pavilion; € 10 entry for temporary exhibitions. Access: from Lens station, take bus B1 or 41.
To read also: The Hotel Louvre-Lens, black diamond
Lewarde Historic Mining Center
Helmet on, visitors enter a replica mine to understand the working conditions of miners over the centuries. Lewarde historic mining center
Located 8 km from Douai (Nord), the Lewarde Historical Mining Center traces three centuries of mining in Nord - Pas-de-Calais. The largest mining museum in France, the center occupies the former Delloye pit, in operation until 1971. A guided tour of a replica of mines allows you to understand the techniques and working conditions of the "black gueules" at over the centuries. Highlight of the visit, the meeting with former minors who are happy to relate their daily life (meetings temporarily suspended due to the health context).
Lewarde historic mining center, Delloye pit, rue d'Erchin, 59287 Lewarde. Phone. : 03 27 95 82 82. Price: € 12.50 per discovered visit per adult. Access: from Douai station, take bus line A to the Place des Vésignons stop.
Lille Palace of Fine Arts
Inaugurated in 1892, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille boasts a collection of 60,000 works, of which only 2,000 are exhibited. To meet the preferences of each visitor, the museum offers thematic tours, for example on the representation of animals or angels and demons in the works. Not to be missed in the basement of the palace, the room of relief plans (18th century models) of fifteen towns fortified by Vauban in the north of France and in Belgium.
Palace of Fine Arts of Lille, place de la République, 59000 Lille. Phone. : 03 20 06 78 00. Price: € 7 full price. Access: metro line 1, République - Beaux-Arts station.
Roubaix swimming pool
The former Olympic basin is surrounded by statues and the shower stalls are converted into display cases. DENIS CHARLET / AFP
When it opened in 1932, the municipal swimming pool in Roubaix (North) was intended as a sanctuary of hygiene for workers, many of whom do not have running water at home. Fallen into disuse over the decades and saved from demolition, the art deco building was converted in 2001 into the André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry, before being renovated and extended in 2018. High point of the visit: the Olympic basin surrounded by sculptures and the shower cabins converted into exhibition spaces.
La Piscine - André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry, 23 rue de l'Espérance, 59100 Roubaix. Phone. : 03 20 69 23 60. Price: 9 to 11 € per adult. Access: from Lille, take metro line 2 to Gare de Roubaix station (20 minutes).
Read also: 48 hours in Lille: what to do in the capital of Hauts-de-France
Natural sites
The Grand Site of Deux Caps
The GR120 hiking trail links Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez along the coast. aquaphoto - stock.adobe.com
Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez are among the major natural sites of the Opal Coast. One is located 10 km from Calais, the other 25 km from Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais). Classified among the “Great sites of France”, these chalk cliffs reach up to 134 m above the North Sea and the English Channel. On a clear day, the English coasts, some thirty kilometers away, are visible to walkers. A hiking trail (GR120) connects the two capes over 12 km.
Information on the Deux Caps website. Access: for Cap Blanc-Nez, take bus line 5 from Calais; for Cap Gris-Nez, take bus line 505 from Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The Bay of Somme
Also classified as a “Great site of France”, the Bay of Somme owes its beauty to the diversity of its fauna and its landscapes. As you move away from the coast, the chalk cliffs give way to marshes and salt marshes. At dawn and dusk, the sun illuminates the bay with inimitable colors that will delight painters and photographers. The bay hosts the largest colony of sea calf seals in France, visible all year round at the Pointe du Hourdel. A tourist steam train and a network of 40 km of cycle paths allow you to tour the bay with ease.
Information from the Baie de Somme tourist office. Access: from Noyelles-sur-Mer train station (2h30 from Lille or 2 hours from Paris), take the Somme bay railway towards Le Crotoy, Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme or Cayeux-sur-Mer. The Hauts-de-France region offers a TER Pack including a return trip to Noyelles-sur-Mer (from Paris and any Hauts-de-France station) and a pass valid for 2 days on the historic trains of the Bay de Somme (€ 27 per adult, € 11 per child under 12).
Read also: From the Bay of Somme to the Vosges mountains, these places near us where we would like to relax
The Hortillonnages of Amiens
Boat trips are organized on the canals of Amiens by the association for the protection and safeguard of the Hortillonnages site. ADRT80-AB
A corner of nature a few hundred meters from Notre-Dame d'Amiens cathedral. The prefecture of the Somme, birthplace of Jules Verne, hides a set of floating gardens surrounded by 65 km of canals. The visit can be done on foot, but the best thing is to let yourself be taken for a boat ride. Each year, the Hortillonnages d'Amiens host the International Garden Festival which aims to promote landscape creation. The 11th edition placed " under the sign of climate change and healthy eating " is held until October 18, 2020.
Les Hortillonnages d'Amiens, 54 boulevard de Beauvillé, 80000 Amiens. Phone. : 03 22 92 12 18. Price: € 5.90 per boat visit for an adult. Access: from Amiens station, take bus line N2, 8 or 12 to the Hortillonnages stop.
To read also: Hortillonnages of Amiens, the art of living in the arms of the Somme
The Avesnois Regional Natural Park
Maroilles is a village in Avesnois and the name of a typical cheese from the North. JOVENIAUX - stock.adobe.com
Bordering Belgium, the Avesnois Regional Natural Park (North) will appeal to lovers of nature and the land. With its vast forests, bocage meadows and rivers, it is an ideal place for hiking without difficulty. Families will appreciate the many water or outdoor activities (horse riding, mountain biking, canoeing ...) on offer around Val-Joly, the largest lake north of Paris. There is also no shortage of cultural venues in the Avesnois park, notably with the glass museum (MusVerre) of Sars-Poteries or the ancient forum of Bavay. A passage through Maroilles is recommended, both for the beauty of the village and for its famous cheese.
Information from Tourisme en Avesnois.
View the must-see places in Hauts-de-France on our map .
