Strolls in the nord department

Come to discover Lille, town of art and history, European Capitale of the culture in 2004. Old city of the XVIIème-XVIIIème century, Palate of the Art schools (2nd museum of France by the richness of the collections), tower of the city in 1 hour in 8 languages, open tourist bureau the every day (of 9h30 with 18h30, Sunday and public holidays of 10h with 12h and 14h with 17h) all the year.

To see: Church of St. Marie Madeleine

Located on the territory of the Door of Hainaut, at 15 minutes of Valencians and of Turned, to 30 km of Lille, in the middle of the Natural reserve the Regional Scarpe-Scheldt, in domanial skirt of forest, Saint-Amand-Les-Eaux, has many assets which make of them a town of wellbeing and discoveries

Founded in VIIème century by the Amand monk at the request of king Dagobert, the city became a spiritual and artistic center before being attached to France at the XVIIème century. That you are riding, tourist-cycling, or walkers, you will fill the tank with fresh air while going along Scarpe, or by traversing the hiking trails whose the national forests abound with the foot in the city. In the neighbourhoods, the ornithological reserve of the Pond with Goriaux, the pond of the Vineyard, the base of leisures of Raismes and the House of the forest will decorate your stroll bucolic. The informed cyclists will be able to test themselves on Perforated of Arenberg, passage dreaded of mythical Paris-Roubaix. They will see there the mining site of Wallers-Arenberg, which illustrates the mining epopee of the area. After all these efforts, you will be able to benefit from beneficial moments of re-arrangement to theThermal one. Crossing the centuries, Saint-Amand-the-Water, obtained a remarkable inheritance. Its abbey Tower will captivate you by his exuberant and single architecture going back to 1626. You will let yourselves delude by the daily melodies with its chime. Top of its 82 meters, it is the subject of an important building site of restoration, around whose actions of development of the trades of art are envisaged as well as animations of "my Tower in festival" in spring each year. With its foot, the museum of earthenware will allure the esthètes. As for the amateurs of culture, they will be to appreciate the programme of quality of the Saint-Amand-Les-Eaux theatre. And to prolong one evening of festival, try your chance in Pasino, true complex combining rooms of spectacle, restaurants with topic, hotel 3 stars...

In the Flemish plain, to 9 km of the beaches of Dunkirk-Malo the Baths, to 15 km of the Belgian border and 40 km of the outlet of the Channel tunnel, Bergues opens its doors to you

Small city of character, still entirely corsetée of ramparts and blottie to the foot of its belfry and the hill which gave him its name, Bergues Saint-Winoc is one of these Flemish cities on which times seem not to have not an influence. The richness of its inheritance, its gastronomy and its environment will be able to retain the tourist of passage in "other Bruges of Flandres"

As at time formerly, the city is rythmée with the sound of its chime which égrenne the every fifteen minutes or when it sounds its 50 bells for the market of Monday morning or the traditional festivals like the carnival (Sunday of the mid-Lent), the Branches (important agricultural fair Sunday before Easter), the Festival of Bergues (traditional Music, at the end of June) or at the time of the Night of the Mirror to the Larks, anno 1585 (night Spectacle, at the end of April and at the beginning of October). All the styles of restorations are present and will be able to offer to you the local specialities like Cheese of Bergues, sausage of Bergues or Potsch' vleech, sprinkled as it should be good beer of the country. In the immediate vicinity of Bergues, it is the discovery of the Flanders, this lowland where these large boroughs with the brick walls and their gigantic churches flower, of this ground which channels and water gangs furrow, and whose marked out ways of vaults or small bridges, lead still sometimes to some mills or some taverns...

Steenwerck wants to say work of the stone, this work could consist formerly with the construction of a bridge on Becque and the there communicating macadamization of the ways. It is probable that the foundation of the village as for much of others in Flanders, date of the colonization of Frank in accordance with the Germanic invasions of IVème and 5th centuries. The communal territory being located at the variation of the terrestrial antiques ways, it undoubtedly had there a long time only one small island of settlement among wood and marshes which covered the plain with the Lily. This common was always famous for its religious practice. Also is not it astonishing to currently raise the existence of a hundred oratories arranged in pinions of the farms and houses or broods. Moreover, there are also twenty five vaults scattered on all its territory with crossroads of countryside. A circuit proposed by the Office of Tourism makes it possible to discover the twenty five vaults of which the oldest date of XVIème century. Majority having been built or rebuilt with XIXème and XXème century. The paths offer beautiful points of view on the mounts of Flanders de Cassel to Kemmel. Throughout the year of the original demonstrations many visitors attract: 100 km with foot, days with topic with the Museum of the rural Life, the biennial one of ceramics, the day Stop, the Market of Christmas and the international exhibition of cribs...

Top of its 176m, the Cassel Mount offers a remarkable panorama on the Flemish plain and the seven Roman ways, which connected the fortified town to the strategic cities of the Empire. The descent is done along escarpés ways bordered of hawthorn hedges. With a crossing, it is not rare to meet thatched cottages typically Flemish glazes of mysterious signs runic, vaults, or randomly of a village sumptuous hallekerque - church with three naves - which will undoubtedly contain quite as invaluable retable. To take again its breath, nothing of such as a halt in a pub, traditional coffee which smells the Flemish specialities good. It will be then time to set out again to climb another mount of Flanders or to admire other giants.

Flemish village of 4100 inhabitants located at 40 km of Lille and Dunkirk with the highest Church of Flanders (92m), the windmills in operating condition...

First French seaport of the North Sea, first energy platform of Europe, Dunkerque, heart of an agglomeration of more than 200.000 inhabitants, combines industrial and harbour tradition with "durable development" for which it obtained a first European price. Dunkierque it is a sky changing with the clouds soft and violent ones, intense and pure as the pallet of Arthur Van Hecke. Dunkerque, it is a festive tradition, with the image of its Carnival to no one another similar. Dunkerque it's finally and especially the heat and the energy of the men who allow the projects to become reality. Today Dunkerque and its agglomeration is all at the same time harbour, industrial, academic, balneal, "durable", cultural and festive, open on the area, France and the World, in short open on the great horizons