The Nord/Pas de Calais region has often found itself at the centre of conflict and politics in European history, so the warfare of centuries has left many traces. In spite of its agricultural countryside and peasant farming heritage, its major cities became wealthy and important when Flanders was one of the world’s great trading places, and again later, at the time of the Industrial Revolution, so the entrepreneurial rich of the day could indulge their taste for art, architecture and lasting monuments. There’s a strong tradition of seafaring and fishing in its larger ports as well as smaller coastal communities, and , of course, there were once many important abbeys and other Christian religious communities based here.
All this adds up to an area full of cultural and historic interest, where we are fortunate to have a large number of museums, galleries and historical visitor centres where we can learn about how life was lived here, in the past.
We only have space here to suggest a few of our local attractions, such as:
Seafaring and Sea-
Nausicaa -
Mareis and the Marine Museum at Etaples -
The Musee Portuaire at Dunkerque
Industry and Crafts
The Coal Mining museum at Lewarde near Douai
The Fine Art & Lace Museum at Calais
The Ceramics Museum at Desvres
The Coal Mining Museum at Lewarde
Life in Wartime Occupied France
La Coupole at Helfaut near St Omer
Art & Local History
Le Touquet Museum -
Cathedrals
The cathedral at St Omer is a gothic masterpiece. Amiens cathedral, a couple of hours drive away in the neighbouring Somme region, is one of France’s greatest cathedrals and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On summer evenings there is a Son et Lumiere show.