Louvre-Lens and the mining basin
Opened in 2012 on a former pit site, the Louvre-Lens unfolds five thousand years of art history in its Galerie du temps, inside a luminous building designed by SANAA. Around it, the UNESCO-listed mining basin tells the story of a hardworking 20th century: the twin slag heaps of Loos, workers’ estates and pit frames. The Cité des Électriciens in Bruay offers a sensitive immersion into the daily life of miners.
Lille and Roubaix, XXL museums
In Lille, the Palais des Beaux-Arts is one of the richest in France outside Paris, with Rubens, Goya and Jordaens. In Roubaix, La Piscine, housed in a former Art Deco swimming pool, blends ceramics, sculpture and painting around a central basin that an entire town once swam in. Two visits that lead to long conversations extended on a terrace or over a carbonade.
LaM and Le Fresnoy
In Villeneuve d’Ascq, the LaM brings together modern, contemporary and outsider art in a landscaped park. At Le Fresnoy in Tourcoing, digital works and student films upend the codes of exhibition. On Lyad, people from Nord share their favourite shows; a chance to find someone to extend the visit with over a coffee.
Date ideas
- Louvre-Lens
- Mining Basin
- Cité des Électriciens
- Lille Fine Arts Palace
- La Piscine in Roubaix
- Villeneuve d’Ascq
- LaM
- Le Fresnoy
