Houplines, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais

You'll set off on this cross-border trail from the Mémorial britannique in Ploegsteert, a place rich with memories of the past. The countryside around you, so peaceful now, was the resting place of thousands of British, Australian and German soldiers, who fell during the First World War. After a few kilometres, you'll cross the language border, entering the town of Messines (Mesen), which also was marked by the Great War of 1914-18. Returning via Warneton, a town that was completely rebuilt after the war, the trail continues along the Lys, following its 'RAVeL' greenway. And finally, you'll skirt the edges of the Ploegsteert Nature Reserve, returning you gently back to the Memorial.Cycle-nodes : START 23 - 2 - 15 - 4 - 27 - 6 - 9 - 7 - 28 - 12 - 16 - 13 - 29 - 24 - 3 - 34 - 23 END

A wonderful place to stay thanks to its numerous facilities. Its rooms are equipped with all mod cons and will delight you with their pleasant and invigorating setting.

Discover the city of Lille on this bus tour! Relax and explore every single part of the city! EXPLORE THE STREETS OF LILLE BY BUS AND ADMIRE THE CITY'S MONUMENTS! Embark on a 50-minute bus tour of Lille aboard a comfortably open-top bus (in summer)! Audio guides provide informative commentary throughout the tour, in the language of your choice (French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Russian). As you travel, you can enjoy a scenic view of the city's key monuments, from the ancient to the modern neighbourhoods. The itinerary includes the following sites: * Palais Rihour (tourist information office, first and last stop) * Grand Place * Rue Faidherbe * Quartier des Gares * Euralille * Quartier Royal * Lille Old Town * Îlot Comtesse * Porte de Paris * The City Hall belfry * The Saint-Sauveur neighbourhood * Place de la République and the surrounding district (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Préfecture...) Choose the Lille bus tour to discover the city's major landmarks and points of interest, supplemented with audio-guide commentary!

The best of Lille thanks to the City Pass! Enjoy free access to many museums and attractions as well as unlimited transport! Thanks to the Lille Pass, experience all the ferment of the city in one single offer! Find out about all of Lille's secrets! Enjoy free access to 25 museums, sites, and tourist services in the Lille metropolitan area. With the 72-hour pass, you will also have free access to 14 museums, sites and tourist services in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and a free access to the TER regional train network (operated by the SNCF) for 24 consecutive hours. You will have unlimited access to metropolitan Transpole public transport (underground, buses, tram) during the selected period. You will also get preferential prices on shopping and dining venues (you will receive the list in the Lille and Roubaix tourist information offices). Choose the Lille pass for the duration of your choice and make the most of your stay in Lille!

Discover Lille's old town on a 2-hour walking tour. Walk along the streets and squares, and marvel at the beauty of its architecture! SEE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF LILLE'S OLD TOWN ON THIS GUIDED TOUR! With your guide, discover the old neighbourhoods of the city and feel the charm of this bustling and welcoming city. Lille still features buildings from different influences: the Palais Rihour, the Vieille Bourse, the Rang du Beauregard and the Cathedral. After this tour revealing the city's different architectural styles, your tour will end with a visit to the Hospice Comtesse, an iconic monument combining many accounts of the city's history such as earthenware, sculptures, paintings and furniture. Choose this guided tour of Lille's old town and discover the city's highlights!

Discover Lille on a beer-themed paper chase and walk around its streets looking for clues! FIND OUT ABOUT ALL OF LILLE'S SECRETS ON A FUN BEER TASTING DETECTIVE GAME! The aim of the game is to find the stein of Gambrinus, prince of beer, which was lost somewhere in the city... Start by picking up your road book, then you'll be ready to start searching for the missing chalice! To complete your quest, you will follow a trail around Lille's streets and squares looking for clues to help you solve the enigma. Several key clues can be found in certain of the city's bars. You'll have the pleasure of tasting 4 exceptional beers in 4 of Lille's best bars, chosen specially for the game. Your search will progress thanks to the clues hidden along the way. You'll need to look in all directions, including in natural spots and even in the taste of your beer! Choose this fun, pleasant and delicious tour of Lille! Good luck! Alcohol abuse is bad for your health. Please consume in moderation 

Discover one of Lille's highlights on a walking audioguided tour by the belfry of Lille's City Hall, and climb on top of its 104-metre-high tower to enjoy a breathtaking view of Lille! Visit the belfry of Lille's City Hall on this audioguided tour! This visit will grant you the opportunity to find out about this 104-metre-high UNESCO World Heritage Site towering over Lille, whose construction ended in 1931. You will be equipped with a pair of binoculars and an audioguide, and enjoy an ideal viewpoint to look at the city and its surroundings. Choose this guided tour to discover the belfry of Lille's City Hall and tower over the city to enjoy a breathtaking scenic view!

A luxury, modern hotel next to the Grand-Place in Mouscron, the Hôtel Alizé offers 4 types of room, all air-conditioned, with beds 210cm long: standard, executive, jacuzzi suite and honeymoon suite. As well as boasting the “Bikes Welcome” label, this gorgeous hotel also offers plenty of other services: sauna, gym, flat screen TV, tea and coffee making facilities, free WiFi, bathroom with bath or shower, hairdryer. Its location right in the centre of town means that there are plenty of restaurants, bars and shops to explore, plus a Christmas market in December, just 25 metres from the hotel. 100% no-smoking hotel.

The statue « Mademoiselle from Armentières » has been erected in november 2008 as tribute to the song, written by an english soldier in 1915 (on a french army tune out of the 1820ties) and sung in 1952 by the french actress and singer Line Renaud, who was born closeby in Pont-de-Nieppe. The work shows a 'lady' carried by four soldiers of the first World War : a scotsman, an indian, an australian and an englishman. Revived by Line Renaud, the song based on an anecdote by an English officer who made an inappropriate gesture towards a young lady from Armentières, who replied with a slap to his face. Not far from here, you can find the 'military quarter' in the middle of the civilian cemetery. -------------- Listen to the original song : 'Mademoiselle from Armentières' (1915) - by Jack Charman - 2'54" *Attention : this file is 680Kb heavy - roaming costs may apply* Your browser does not support the video tag

He served in World War I in the British Army in 1915 in Flanders, where he transported troops in red double-decker London buses. A total of 900 of thede vehicles were used to move troops behind the lines. They were not changed at first amd even kept their red-and-white livery. Soon, however, they were painted khaki, and, the glass windows on the lower deck were prone to breakage, mostly from contact with the men's rifles and packs, they were replaced by planks nailed to the sides of the vehicle. The B-Type could carry 24 fully equipped infantrymen and their kit. Some were converted into mobile pigeon lofts to house the pigeons used for communication along the front. They served until the end of the war when they were used to bring troops home. In 1935, Bestall was selected to take over the Daily Express’s Rupert Bear stories from Mary Tourtel.  Much of the landscape in Rupert is inspired by the Snowdonia landscape of North Wales, notably around Beddgelert.  In 1985, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Bestall died on 15 January 1986, aged 93, at Wern Manor Nursing Home in Porthmadog, Wales In May 2006, Alfred Bestall was commemorated with an English Heritage Blue plaque at 58 Cranes Park, Surbiton, London, where he lived for 30 years. Wikipedia Long, Long Trail Spartacus

*Memorial to the Missing* This cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorial for the missing soldiers of World War I who fought in the immediate area of the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. The grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war. You see the magnificent circular temple, built by Chalton Bradshaw, guarded by two stone lions. The names of 11,447 unknown British soldiers and officers are engraved here. Since 7 June 1999, the Comité du Memorial de Ploegsteert has arranged for the Last Post to be played at the memorial on the first Friday of each month.

The Battle of Fromelles took place on July 19-20, 1916, and pitted British and Australian divisions against a Bavarian division. The impact was terrible, and in less than 24 hours, almost 8,500 soldiers were killed. Many of the soldiers who died on the battlefield were never found. In 2009, a team of archaeologists unearthed the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers who had disappeared at Fromelles. A major identification campaign began, and with each new identity, the story of a soldier was brought to the surface. Follow the battle, the archaeological research and the story of the missing soldiers as you explore the permanent exhibition.

In 1919, The Times referred to the Great War and the rugby players who took part in it as "the game for which they had been preparing for so many years". The enlisting of many players from all over the world during the First World War took a toll on this sport. Find out why rugby players, some of whom fought at Fromelles, were so heavily involved, what impact the First World War had on rugby, and the stories of these sportsmen and women.

The Citadele of Lille, built on the orders of Louis XIV following his conquest of the city, was the work of Sébastien Leprestre, Marquis de Vauban. Its construction lasted three years, from 1667 to 1670, and it was originally a small town surrounded by five bastions forming a star (a circumvolution 2,200 metres long), for which sixty million bricks had to be baked and three million blocks of stone and seventy thousand feet of sandstone extracted from the quarries. Situated on the border with Flanders, it formed part of a double line of strongholds between Gravelines, Dunkirk and Maubeuge. It was the famous "Pré Carré", designed by Vauban and comprising 28 fortified towns, whose relief plans are on display at the Palais des Beaux-Arts. The royal gate at the entrance bears an inscription in Latin praising the glory of the Sun King. As the site is under army control, visits to the heart of the Citadelle can only be booked through the Lille Tourist Office.

It features numerous areas for sports enthusiasts: The Bois de Boulogne with its loops and wellness trails, ideal for jogging, as well as muscle strengthening and stretching equipment are available to the general public. You'll also find accro-Lille, a tree-climbing course for young and old alike.

1915 began in a more sombre mood. The initial enthusiasm of the French had been tempered by massive losses. The Germans, although they had thoroughly beaten the Russians on the Eastern front, had been flung back at the battle of the Marne. The British Army was facing up up to modern warfare on a scale it had not prepared for. The War spread to Africa, the Middle East, and brought in Italy and Bulgaria on opposite sides. The Germans began two new campaigns - with Zeppelin attacks from the air and unrestricted U-Boats attacks against merchant and passenger ships around the British Isles. including the sinking of the Lusitania. The French Army launched another disastrous attack in the Champagne region. The second battle of Ypres saw the first use of poison gas against the British. Faced with the appalling conditions and casualties on the Western Front some British politicians (including Winston Churchill) and their military advisors began to look for other fronts where Britain’s naval forces could be involved.  In the Middle East the British began a long campaign against the Turkish armies in Mesopotamia with an initial success at the battle of Kut-al-Amara. Meanwhile in the West the British Army used a combination of poison gas and increased artillery support to punch a hole in the German lines at the battle of Loos which was not properly exploited. From this failure much was learned by the British High Command.

Restaurant offering a small, simple and homemade menu, as well as a wine bar and planks. For more information, visit Website: le-fil-rouge-darmentieres.eatbu.com/?lang=fr Facebook: www.facebook.com/lefilrougearmentieres/?locale=fr_fr Contact: 03 20 57 60 87

Picture this: a wooden table under a willow tree, kids laughing by the pond, the clinking of glasses, and a cheerful playlist floating in the air.Welcome to Les Copines d’abord, the new guinguette in La Chapelle-d’Armentières – a peaceful and joyful escape just a stone’s throw from home. Nature, Friends & Feel-Good Vibes Tucked behind the town hall, right by a tranquil pond, this lush, leafy venue is made for unwinding.Every string of lights, every bench, every detail has been designed to create a relaxed, friendly atmosphere where everyone feels welcome. Simple, Local, Delicious Enjoy a bite with heart:• Homemade pizzas & sharing boards made with organic, local ingredients• Refreshing cocktails, craft beers & soft drinks Events for Everyone It’s more than just a guinguette – it’s a hub for community fun:• Pétanque & darts tournaments• Bingo nights• Artisan markets & vintage pop-ups• Open-air sales & concerts Easy to Find, Easy to Park Several free parking options nearby make your visit a breeze:• Town Hall parking• School restaurant lot• École du Bourg lot• Place du Général de Gaulle• Square Birchington Come on foot, by bike or car – all roads lead to good times. Welcoming & Accessible Accessibility is a priority. If you need assistance, our team is here to help ensure everyone enjoys their moment by the pond.At Les Copines d’abord, everyone has a seat at the table.

Looking for a riverside escape full of music, good food, and good vibes? La Guinguette Bord de Lys is your go-to summer spot in Armentières! Nestled along the Lys River, this open-air guinguette invites you to enjoy a relaxed, friendly, and delicious getaway just steps from the city. Tasty Treats & Shared Moments From Wednesday to Sunday, come enjoy: • Sharing platters, hot croque-monsieurs, and sweet waffles• Pop-up culinary surprises to awaken your taste buds• A sunny terrace and shady corners perfect for laid-back lunches or festive evenings Live Music & Local Energy Every weekend, the guinguette turns into a joyful open-air stage!Local bands, community groups, and spontaneous performances bring the place to life with music and laughter. Family Fun & Games Whether you're into pétanque, board games, or just relaxing in a deckchair, there’s something for everyone! Kids, teens, parents — everyone’s welcome to enjoy the riverside fun. Easy Access in the Heart of the City Located just steps from downtown Armentières, La Guinguette Bord de Lys is easily accessible on foot, by bike, or by car, with nearby parking available.Perfect for a spontaneous outing or a full weekend of chill.

Neighbourhood-free function room 10 minutes from Lille, with car park. Capacity for 80 people. For more information, visit Facebook : www.facebook.com/le521boisgrenier/?locale=fr_fr Contact: 06 10 33 14 70

Looking for a laid-back spot by the water where everyone feels welcome? Head to Station Troquet, the friendly riverside guinguette in the heart of Quesnoy-sur-Deûle!Set along the Deûle canal, this eco-friendly hangout blends local flavors, family fun, and good times in a relaxed natural setting. 100% Local Flavors Here, everything’s fresh and sourced locally! On the menu: • Savory and sweet paninis• Sharing boards, saucisson & crispy fries• Craft beers, fresh juices, wines & homemade cocktails It’s the perfect combo of taste and sustainability! Fun for All Ages Station Troquet hosts festive events all year long: • Karaoke nights to let loose and sing your heart out• Sports broadcasts in a chill outdoor setting• Giant wooden games for kids and grown-ups alike• Floating concerts on the Deûle for magical evenings And for the sporty types? The neighboring canoe-kayak club offers fun on the water just steps away!

Tucked away at 2 Route de Quesnoy in Warneton, La Guinguette de la Marine is a hidden gem for lovers of traditional French cuisine and warm, laid-back atmospheres. Set right along the peaceful Lys River, it’s the perfect spot to unwind, whether you're enjoying a sunny lunch with friends or a cozy evening with family. Hearty Northern French Cuisine, Made with Love The menu is a tribute to regional flavors and home-style cooking, featuring comforting, homemade dishes that reflect the soul of the North: Flemish carbonnade slowly simmered in local beer Crispy shrimp croquettes Roasted bone marrow with toasted bread Charcuterie and cheese sharing boards A Northern twist on tiramisu: the Ch’tiramisu Local beer lovers will be thrilled by the curated selection of regional brews — the perfect pairing for a riverside meal. Whether you’re a local or just passing through, La Guinguette de la Marine invites you to relax, share, and savour every bite by the water.

Bowling, virtual reality and catering. For more information, visit Website: www.planetbowling.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/planetbowlinglomme/?locale=fr_fr Contact: 03 20 08 10 56

Bar, restaurant. For more information, visit Contact : 03 20 78 85 47

📍 Near Ferme Saint-Chrysole – Wambrechies Just 15 minutes from Lille, L’Amusette invites you to relax and unwind in a green, friendly setting along the Deûle. Perfect for families, friends, or a sunny afterwork hangout, this seasonal guinguette has everything for a memorable summer day. 🚌 A British Touch with a Red Double-Decker Bar At the heart of L’Amusette is a real red London bus, transformed into a quirky bar! Grab a cold local beer or a fresh cocktail and chill on a deckchair or under the shade of the marquee – it’s summer, relaxed and reimagined. 🌮 Street Food for Every Craving Foodies, rejoice! L’Amusette hosts rotating food trucks offering mouthwatering options: juicy burgers, loaded hot dogs, Malagasy dishes, poutine, Mexican specialties and more. Every visit brings a new flavour adventure. 🎯 Fun for Everyone From pétanque and darts to kids’ games and live music, L’Amusette is made for joyful, easygoing moments. Whether you're here for an afternoon with the kids or an evening with friends, this guinguette has summer written all over it.

A wonderful place to stay thanks to its numerous facilities. Its rooms are equipped with all mod cons and will delight you with their pleasant and invigorating setting.

Lodging in the interior yard of a square farm. Its activities are centered on cattle and agriculture. Located outside the village, in a quiet setting. On your walks you can discover the charms of the Lys. Nearby: Ice Mountain (indoor skiing), Ieper (10 km), Lille (20 km), Bruges (60 km). Ground fl.: lounge (TV, sofa-bed 1x2 p.)/dining r., kitch. (electr. cooker, oven, dishwasher). Washing machine and dryer. Internet. 1 bedr. (1x2 p.), shower r. (shower, WC, washbasin), air conditioning. 2 bedr. (1x2 p.), bathr. (batht., washbasin).

La Ferme de Gabrielle is a century-old farmhouse that has been transformed into a comfortable holiday home with a rich history. It is situated in the centre of the village of Bizet, in the Armentières-Lille-Ypres triangle, where the guests can enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside. At the same time, the farm is the ideal starting point for a visit to the major nearby tourist sites. This holiday home accommodates up to 6/7 people. Bicycles are available to discover the region and the local products! Vegetable garden and orchard. Covered terrace. The wood-burning stove creates a rustic atmosphere during the winter months.