Port Fluvial Daire Sur La Lys Tourist Country Saint Omer 10Between commerce and slow tourism
First introduced in France in the 70s, river tourism fits in perfectly with “slow tourism” and naturally combines with other nature activities. France is Europe’s leading navigable waterway network, with 8500 km of water ways, so it seemed only natural that the Belle du Pas-de-Calais, Aire-sur-la-Lys, should be one of them.
What’s more, there’s a long history between the river and Aire, one that has contributed to the city’s economic development. Indeed, thanks to its geographical location, the bassin des 4 faces is Aire’s river crossroads between the Canal de Neuffossé (towards Saint-Omer, the port of Arques), the Canal d’Aire (towards Béthune, La Bassée and towards the Deûle), the canalized and navigable Lys (towards Haverskerque, Armentières and Deûlémont) and the Lys intra-muros, a watercourse rising in Lisbourg (62).
In the past, it enabled merchant ships to turn around and sail in the desired direction. Already shown on the 1745 relief plan, the basin was a commercial crossroads that made Aire-sur-la-Lys a major cloth-producing town in the area.
