ANGELA BIRD'S
Northern France
What to
do and see within 90 minutes of Calais
WHAT'S ON IN NORTHERN FRANCE
May 2012
(entries in red indicate new additions)
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PLEASE NOTE This website is really just a
supplement to Angela Bird's guidebook, Northern France: What to do and see
within 90 minutes of Calais (left), which gives full details in its 176
pages of hundreds of interesting and off-beat tourist sites throughout the
region. |
The listings on this
site are supplied in good faith, gathered by the author from various sources. However it is always
wise to check details with organisers or tourist offices before making a
special journey. 59=Nord |
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Until 20 May 2012 |
Picasso à l'oeuvre. Dans l'objectif de David Douglas
Duncan Exhibition devoted to two creators of genius: Pablo Picasso
and American David Douglas Duncan. Taken between 1956 and 1973, Duncan’s
images show Picasso in the privacy of his life as an artist. Tues-Thurs
11-6, Fri 11-8, Sat, Sun 1-6.
Closed 25 Dec & 1 Jan, 7 euros, chldren 4.50 euros. |
Musée la Piscine, 23, rue de l’Espérance, Roubaix
59
(tél : 03 20 69 23 60), nr Lille |
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Until 10 June 2012 |
Une lignée de patrons pêcheurs étaplois de 1883 à
nos jours Exhibition of photographs and stories relating to
the best-known fishing-boatowners of the 19th century and their
descendants, gathered by retired local fishing-boat-owner Gervais Perrault,. |
Musee de la Marine, Etaples,
62 |
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Until 10 June 2012 |
Henri-Edmond Cross et le néo-impressionisme: de
Seurat à Matisse Exhibition of works by a 19th-century
artist born in the northern town of Douai, examining Cross’s influence on Matisse
and the other Fauve painters. Tues-Mon 10am-6pm. 5€, children free;
everybody free on first Sun of month. |
Musée
Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambresis, 59
(tel: 03 59 73 38 00). |
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Until 15 June 2012 |
Le musée sort de sa réserve Exhibition of works by 19th-century
painters and present-day artists depicting the city of Amiens. |
Musée de Picardie, Amiens, 80 |
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Until 18 June 2012 |
Les Pélagiques: La Mesure des
choses Artist Philippe Richard has been
invited to create a route through Dunkerque’s fine-art museum that juxtaposes his own works
with those of the Museum’s collection. Wed-Mon 10am-12.15pm & 2-6pm.
4.50€, 18-25 year-olds 3€, children free. Free for all on first Sun of month.
Ticket valid for 7 days and admits to the town’s mdern art museum, LAAC, too.
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Musée
des Beaux-Arts, Place du General de Gaulle, Dunkerque, 59 (tel: 03 28 59 21 65) |
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Until 24 June 2012 |
Eugeen van Mieghem et le port d'Anvers A prolific artist, Eugeen van Mieghem (1875-1930)
was part of the late-19th/early-20th-century art scene
in Paris. A favourite subject was the port of Antwerp, where he showed the
everyday lives of the dock and its workers. |
Musée
Départemental de Flandre, Grand’Place, Cassel 59 |
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Until 3 July 2012 |
Le Jardin des Boves The annual three-month summer period when the
tunnels beneath the tourist office of Arras take on a new air, being filled
with growing plants and strange music.
This year’s theme is the Gardens of Versailles. |
Office de Tourisme,
Hôtel de Ville, Place des Héros, Arras 62 |
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Until |
Missing of the Somme Exhibition
revealing individual stories of some of the 73 000 soldiers lost in the Somme battlefields
during World War I, many of whom are commemorated on the massive Monument to
the Missing at Thiepval. It will
look at the continuing pull the region exerts on British and Commonwealth
residents today, who come to visit the cemeteries and monuments. |
Historial
de la Grande Guerre, Péronne, 80 |
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Until 10 Nov 2013 |
Roulez
Carosses! Exhibition of royal carriages and other
grand conveyances from the magnificent collection of the Chateau de Versailles.
They include paintings, sculptures, sleighs, sedan chairs, harness. Wed-Mon 11-6;
closed bank holidays such as 14 July. Admission 7 euros |
Musee des Beaux-Arts,
Abbaye St-Vaast, Arras, 62 |
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1 May |
FETE DU TRAVAIL (public holiday) |
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1 May 2012 |
Grande Brocante Large
junk fair in a pretty village. 6am-pm. Admission free. |
Arnèke, near Cassel 59 |
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1 May 2012 |
Braderie Brocante de la Fete du Muguet Annual 1 May brocante fair, with some 300 stalls set up
through the streets of this historic town, associated with Henry VIII and the
Field of the the Cloth of Gold. |
Guînes, near Calais, 62 |
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1 May 2012 |
Brocante 150
stalls. |
Verchocq, nr Fauquembergues 62 |
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1 May 2012 |
Réderie de Maricourt Village car-boot sale. |
Maricourt, nr Albert 80 |
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1 May 2012 |
Fete
au Jardin des Plantes Garden fair, the place to pick up plants,
seeds, vegetables etc, and to discuss the finer points of horticulture with
local gardeners – both amateur and professional. 10am-5.30pm. Admission free. |
Jardin des Plantes Boulevard du Jardin des Plantes, Amiens,
80 Tél : 03 22 78 09 83 |
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4-8 May 2012 |
Les 4 Jours de Dunkerque Major cycle race along the roads of Northern France.
Check the daily itinerary on the website if you are thinking of touring, or
you might get delayed while the race passes ! On Mon 7 May there is a major hill-climb stage among the
Monts de Flandres, or Flanders hills. |
Start & finish : Dunkerque 59 |
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5 May-17 Sept 2012 |
14-18 : Les femmes sur un autre
front : Leur engagement
durant la Grande Guerre à Etaples Exhibition on the role of women during World
War I at Étaples – a small town that held 16 military hospitals.
Photographs and archaeological finds evoke the work not only of nurses from
Britain, but of local French women undertaking jobs that would normally have
been done by their menfolk absent on the battlefront. |
Musée Quentovic, Étaples, near Le
Touquet, 62 |
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8 May |
ARMISTICE World War II : |
Throughout France |
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11-13 May 2012 |
30ème Festival d’Amiens, Musiques De Jazz Et d'ailleurs More than 40 concerts in and around Amiens,
including jazz, pop, ballads, pop, hip-hop and world music. |
Amiens area,
80 |
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12, 13 May 2012 |
Mei-feest
Traditional
farming is evoked with shows of horses and cattle in the streets of this
Flemish village. Also a brocante fair and a flower market.
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Steenwoorde, nr
Cassel 59 |
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12 May-16 Sept 2012 |
Dessiner-Tracer Museums throughout the region are runnigng exhibitions linked to the
theme of drawing.
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LAAC, Dunkerque, 59 (car parking on
Rue des Chantiers de France). Tel : 03 28 29 56 00. |
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13 May 2012 |
Transbaie
Running race of 20km across the broad
estuary of the river Somme, with more than 6,000 participants. Start 11am. |
St-Valéry sur Somme 80 |
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17 May 2012 |
JEUDI DE L’ASCENSION / ASCENSION DAY (public holiday)
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Throughout France |
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17 May 2012 |
MAPID (Marché aux Puces International de
Dunkerque) Huge flea market, with 1,000 stalls, in the
city centre. 8am-5pm.
Admission free. |
Dunkerque, 59 |
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17-20 May 2012 |
Baie de Somme en Jazz Fourth edition of festival of jazz, blues and gipsy
music. |
Le Crotoy, 80 |
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18 May 2012 |
Mosaïc Opéra Popular
operatic solos, duets and trios. |
Villers-Bretonneux, 80 |
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19 May-7 Dec 2012 |
Albert Siffait de Moncourt et l'éloge du
Patrimoine Born in 1858, Moncourt showed a love of
Ponthieu heritage in his work. His near-photographic depictions in this
exhibition seem to be influenced by archaeology and ethnology. |
Musee Roger Rodiere, Montreuil, 62 |
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19 May 2012 |
La Nuit des
Musées Special late-evening openings and events in museums
throughout France. Click on website to find out what is happening in your
chosen area.
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Throughout France |
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20 May 2012 |
Rassemblement
mensuel de Voitures de Collection “Aux Marches du Palais” First of this
year’s monthly presentations of elegant collector’s cars – from Jaguars
to 2cvs - lined up on the lawns in front of the Palais de l’Europe (near the
tourist office). 10.30am-12.30pm. Others
take place on the third Sunday of the month from April to September. |
Palais de l’Europe, Place de l’Hermitage, |
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26, 27 May 2012 |
Festival
Historique Multi Epoques
Living-history event, with 500 participants
re-creating all periods from the Vikings to the present day. Admission: 3 €
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Boulogne-sur-Mer, 62 |
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26, 27 May 2012 |
Journées
Doullennaises des Jardins d’Agrément Delightful garden show, with stands laid out
inside the town’s ancient citadel. Bigger every year, it attracts exhibitors
from France and England alike. Special focus this year on plants from South
America. Daily
9.30am-7pm. 6 euros, under-15s free. |
Doullens, nr Amiens, 80 |
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28 May 2012 |
LUNDI DE PENTECOTE /
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Throughout France |
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28 May 2012 |
Grande
cavalcade Whit Monday
carnival procession, with Jehan, the Estaires giant, and his
« guests » - other giants invited for the occasion. At the end of
the musical parade comes Aliboron III, the town’s donkey. Starts 2.30pm.
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Place Louis Blanquart, Estaires 59 |
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