Merville, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Trail marking: Yellow Between the Lys and the Nave, hike on the paths of the Pays de Busnes, land of shallot cultivation, celebrated every year on the second weekend of September. Along the way, you can admire chapels and churches as well as the Biette farm.

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 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!

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 

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.

This was the first battle planned by the BEF, rather than being a reaction to German advances. Designed to break through the German trench line to the Aubers Ridge and possibly Lille, when a supporting French attack was cancelled the British carried on. The attack was undertaken by Sir Douglas Haig's First Army whose Chief of Staff was Sir John Gough VC who was shot and died in this battle. Sir Henry Rawlinson's IV Corps attacked on the left and Gen. James Willcock's Indian Corps on the right, aiming to squeeze out a German salient that included the village itself. The plans were drafted in great detail and tactical surprise was achieved and an initial break-through. After this success, however, the fog of war descended and there were unexpected delays and communication problems leading to a failure to bring up reserves to maintain the momentum of the attack. The German defenders were able to rush in reinforcements and dig a new line behind the British break-in. The artillery bombardment, aided by photo reconnaissance, was too light and ammunition quickly ran short. Sir Douglas Haig, the First Army commander, cancelled further attacks and ordered the captured ground to be consolidated, in preparation for a new attack further north. In the four British Divisions taking part 544 officers and 11,108 other ranks were killed, wounded and missing. German losses, including 1687 prisoners, were also about 12,000.

At a crossroads on the Richebourg Road stands a high column of white stone between two majestic weeping willows. Flanked by two tigers, the column is surmounted by a Lotus flower, the Star of India and the Imperial Crown. Its base is carved with the words: INDIA 1914-1918. Neuve-Chapelle Memorial is the only place of remembrance on the Western Front to commemorate the sacrifice made by Indian soldiers during the Great War. Inaugurated in 1927, the memorial was the work of Sir Herbert Baker, a famous British architect who also designed Tyne Cot War Cemetery in Ypres, Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery in Fleurbaix, and others. In honour of the Indian soldiers of the Great War The inner south wall of the monument bears the epitaph, 'To the honour of the Army of India which fought in France and Belgium, 1914-1918, and in perpetual remembrance of those of their dead whose names are here recorded and who have no known grave'. Beneath the inscription are listed by regiment the names of the 4,857 soldiers who were reported missing in action. Under the dome opposite the entrance to the memorial, a bronze plaque fixed to the wall in 1964 completes the list with the names of the 206 Indian prisoners of war who died in Germany. Severely tested by the fighting in the summer of 1914, the British Army called upon military units already established in India. The first reinforcements landed in Marseilles in September 1914 and were soon transported to Flanders. The Sikhs, Gurkhas, Punjabis and other Indians fighting in the Battle of Givenchy in December 1914 were ill-prepared for the harsh conditions in the trenches and suffered from a lack of warm clothing and food. In March 1915, during the Battle of Aubers Ridge, they took part in the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle where more than 4,000 of their comrades perished. Six months later, on 25 September, they lost 3,017 soldiers in one day's fighting around Laventie. From the end of 1915 onwards the men of the Indian Corps were gradually relieved and transferred to other fronts in the Middle East.

India, Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial,, Intersection of the D947 and the D171, Richebourg l’Avoué, , The first Indian troops in the Imperial British Army arrived in France in October 1914. They were first stationed in Flanders and took part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915. This memorial is to their role in France and in Belgium during the Great War.,

Built in 1388 as a reward to the people of Béthune for their loyalty to the French Crown, this is the last vestige of the town's medieval history. It was destroyed by bombing in 1918 leaving only the 16th part intact. The Belfry of Béthune is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has bee classified as a Historic Monument since 1862

Close to the Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial stands a white walled cemetery with an imposing entrance: on one side of the thick wrought-iron gate stands the chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima; on the other, the Portuguese National Cemetery of Richebourg which is the final resting place of 1,831 soldiers and the only place of remembrance to honour the Portuguese soldiers of the Great War. Abandoning neutrality in 1906, the young Portuguese Republic entered the war on the side of the Allies. The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps comprised up to 56,500 men and, under the command of the British Army, was assigned to the front in Flanders between the villages of Laventie and Festubert. The Portuguese Command took up quarters in Peylouse Manor in Saint-Venant. The sole place of remembrance for the Portuguese soldiers of the Great War Not only did the lusophone soldiers discover the damp and muddy reality of the trenches in Lys Valley, transport problems caused by a lack of available shipping from Portugal to the shores of France meant that officers were in short supply. On 9 April 1918 the German Army launched Operation Georgette in the Lys Valley in the hope of a decisive victory before the arrival of American reinforcements. In three successive waves, ten divisions overwhelmed the two Portuguese divisions which were incomplete, badly-organized and surprised in the process of being relieved. Portuguese losses amounted to 7,500 men on that day, and yet the next day, shoulder to shoulder with the Scottish, the survivors defended La Couture before eventually being forced to retreat. The Germans took Estaires, Armentières and Bailleul but failed to take Béthune and Hazebrouck. Operation Georgette was called off on 29 April. In honour of the soldiers who defended the village of La Couture, the French and Portuguese governments inaugurated a monument there in 1928. The startling frieze shows the ruins of a Gothic church and an allegory of the Portuguese Republic coming to the aid of one of its soldiers.

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.

Built in 1600, this is really quite a unique edifice in the region. Of Flemish Renaissance style it was a former guardhouse and now houses the Tourist Office. Temporary exhibitions are regularly held on the first floor.

This vast Gothic church was founded by Baudouin le Pieux in 1059. It was badly damaged by fires but was rebuilt during the XV century. A flamboyant edifice of brick and stone it is doted with a superb oak organ chest which dates from 1633 and originates

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

Maison construite il y a plus de 2 siècle, était l'ancien presbytère de la commune. Ses vieux murs ont des centaines d'histoires à vous raconter écoutez-les !

The Brussel's Café is an exceptional choice and an a la carte selection of the best specialties of our region. Forms and menus to suit all tastes and all budgets. And every day the chief selects the slate of five specialties ... Open 7 days on 7, the Brussel's Café will serve from 11:30 to 15h and from 19h to 23h and until midnight Friday and Saturday. To discover with friends, for a business meal or family ...

"With breathtaking views of the ruins of the old convent, each room reflects a style or era and plunged the client in a new universe. They can be rented from 75 to 500 € per day. At lunchtime, the restaurant offers its complete formula at 16 € including an appetizer, the dish of the day, a pastry of your choice, fourth drink, coffee and homemade chocolate. Access for the disabled because the site has the Tourism and Handicap label. Free private parking. Open Tuesday to Friday noon, the festive weekends or lunch all weekend by appointment."

JAPANESE & CHINESE RESTAURANTFree delivery to your home or office (from 20 €) Possibility to organize anniversary, banquet, meeting with friends, business meals, etc.

Au Coq Illico" is a restaurant specialize in the poultry. Fresh products, warm setting and welcome await you in the heart of Bethune. Open from Tuesday to Friday from 12 pm to 2.30 pm and from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm. On Saturday from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm. On Sunday from 12 pm to 2.30 pm.

"With breathtaking views of the ruins of the old convent, each room reflects a style or era and plunged the client in a new universe. They can be rented from 75 to 500 € per day. At lunchtime, the restaurant offers its complete formula at 16 € including an appetizer, the dish of the day, a pastry of your choice, fourth drink, coffee and homemade chocolate. Access for the disabled because the site has the Tourism and Handicap label. Free private parking. Open Tuesday to Friday noon, the festive weekends or lunch all weekend by appointment.

Sushi North: a Japanese restaurant with specialties, sushi, maki and skewer

Potin the pans is a tavern in the country of Artois led by stories, songs, music ... It proposes the recipes of our grandmothers made up to date and fresh cooked aves. A card is available per season.

"Petite Venise" suggest an Italian cuisine! Eat in or take away! In the restaurant, pizza is fabulous!Only closed on saturday lunch.

The restaurant "Le Bistrot Gourmand" welcomes you in a cozy and warm atmosphere. Come and discover a simple and traditional cuisine from Monday to Friday noon. Come enjoy a more "worked" (gourmet kind) cuisine on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Whether you like fish or meat, you are sure to find your happiness in a subtle variation of flavors. Two rooms are at your disposal. Possible to hire for business meals or family ones. Cuisine prepared with fresh products.

Welcome to The Parenthèse ! Come to relax in the nature settinh of 7000 m2 and to walk in the orchard. Our pond will also let you an impression of calm and will make you feel full to the campaign.

Mr. and Mrs. Senechal offer quality accommodation consisting of three separate bedrooms and comfortable, with a view on the beautiful park of one hectare and its pond. You will find near the site of many tourist attractions to visit, including cemeteries, the famous Belfry of Béthune and Grand Place's Art Deco ... Each room is individually decorated to suit all tastes: the room Melrose British style (20 m2), the Modern Rose family room (35 m2) and the Rose des Vents's room (35 m2) on the marine decor. They all have a double bed, desk, TV, bathroom and WC. The linen and towels are provided. A tray will also allow you to refresh your leisure. In the reception area, you take your breakfast and enjoy the view of the park but also by sharing with your guests will be delighted to share moments with you. Au Temps des Roses : bed and breakfast smooth, beauty and comfort ...

Outside the village, 2 independant bedrooms on the 1st floor, with private entrance and parking. Each bedroom is composed of bed for 2 people, a bathroom and a WC. TV and telephone are also in each room. Dining room, kitchen, rest room for the guests. Possibility of child's extra bed.

Mrs. Hélène Vesselier welcome you in a rustic and style In a quiet and green environment, near military sites, this bright cottage has a large capacity and is accessible to disabled people. A farm visit can be realised and games for children are always available, something for all ages! Les Caperies : a comfortable cottage in a country area not to be missed! ! To visit the area you can receive advices from owners concerning the sites to visit, or the restaurants nearby. A booklet about the village of Richebourg is even available.

At the heart of the heritage of memory, in the triangle-Lille-Armentières Bethune, Mr. and Mrs. Drelon warmly welcome you to this quiet country cottage in Richebourg.It is comfortable and equipped self-catering cottage for 6 people with three spacious rooms and a living space. Pastry will be realised by the owner to welcome you. You will also find many activities during the holiday: fishing, horse riding ... Mésange : a pleasant cottage with all service you need !

Down the road, our gite (designed to accommodate up to three people), built in 2011, is the ideal place to spend a quiet and relaxing stay. Conveniently located twenty minutes driving from the main northern cities (Lille, Armentieres, Lens and Béthune), our gite is the start of many activities. Located within a tree-filled garden, it is also equipped with a parking and offers the possibility to rent a garage. Official rating three stars *** Interior Equipments Kitchen: oven, microwave, sink, fridge Lounge: TV, WiFi access, sofa Bathroom: washbasin and shower Separate toilet Bedroom: double bed, bedside clock radio, wardrobe Large green space and parking Wifi access, possibility to rent a garage

Toutes spacieuses et en teintes douces, les chambres et suite de l’Eden sont des lieux de sérénité et de beauté. Dans chaque décor, inspiré de l’esprit flamand, se glissent des équipements contemporains haut de gamme OUVERT de janvier à décembre

OUVERT de Janvier à Décembre

Waffles, limonades, candies... Discover the delights of northern France through this 3-bedroom cottage.

Northern France celebrates! Find the local festivities in this 2 bedroom gite, with its cozy and contemporary decor.