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Lens-Liévin, Bassin Minier

Posting your suitcases in the Pays de Saint-Omer during the vacations, also means having the opportunity to make some magnificent excursions less than 1h30 away. Among the visits we recommend, there’s a surprising territory, that of Lens-Liévin, which the director of its Tourist Office: Sophie Wilhelm tells us about.

Introducing the Bassin Minier

Located 1 hour from Saint-Omer, Lens is the heart of the Pas de Calais mining basin. A century and a half of mining and two world wars have shaped the landscape. In 2012, the establishment of the Louvre-Lens and the inclusion of the Bassin Minier in Unesco’s World Heritage List marked a turning point in the history of this territory in perpetual renaissance. Today, visitors come to discover Europe’s highest slag heaps, World War I memorial sites, the Art Deco facades of downtown Lens; former mining sites are gradually giving way to nature areas ideal for strolling or nature sports.

Lens Tourist Office website

Must-sees

Traverse 5000 years of history and humanity as you tour the Galerie du temps at the Musée du Louvre Lens, climb the slag heaps of Loos-en-Gohelle with your family, find the names of your ancestors, fallen in the First World War, on the Anneau de la Mémoire at Notre Dame de Lorette, attend an RC Lens match, sleep in former miners’ houses transformed into 4* hotels, treat yourself to a return trip to Canada, just a few minutes from Lens, at the Vimy Memorial….

Here, we love simple pleasures and shared emotions: discovering this territory also means giving priority to meeting its inhabitants, sharing a beer and a French fry with friends.

Major events

Temporary exhibitions at Louvre-Lens

Twice a year, these exhibitions take us on a journey of discovery through a different part of art history. At the end of 2019, the spotlight will be on Poland. In early 2020, the exhibition Black Suns will explore all facets of the color Black, before giving way in the fall to Picasso’s Louvre.

Black Pyramids Trail

In May, the Trail des pyramides noires (Black Pyramids Trail): 104 km of running, climbing 24 slag heaps by day and night.

Armistice commemoration

On November 11, the 14-18 Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Memorial commemorates the armistice of the First World War with a family torchlight retreat.

Saint Barbara's Day

At the beginning of December, 4 days of festivities to perpetuate and renew this deeply-rooted tradition, with shows and strolls around fire, light and detonation.

A little advice

Going to a match at the Stade Bollaert and listening to the 30,000 Sang et Or fans singing “Les Corons” at the start of the second half is an experience to be had, whether you’re a soccer fan or not!.

Lens-Liévin, Bassin Minier

Introducing the Bassin Minier

Must-sees

Major events

A little advice

Explore

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Saint-Omer