A short hop from the Channel, Cassel has a romantic atmosphere and laid-back charm that make it perfect for couples looking to explore historic Flanders and experience some French art de vivre.

Less than an hour from Calais, Cassel is a unique place to immerse yourself in another culture, learn about Flemish architecture and enjoy views over the rest of French Flanders. Must-sees are the Grand’Place with its gabled houses with brightly painted wooden shutters, the Kasteel Meulen or Moulin de Cassel, one of around 20 windmills that dotted the area in the Middle Ages, several private châteaux, and the Musée Départemental de Flandre, with displays on local history plus English audio-guides. For the best countryside views, head for Kasteel Meulen, Estaminet T’Kasteel’hof or the Châtellerie de Shoebecque’s restaurant. A passionate advocate of local life, Manuel de Quillacq is proprietor of both T’Kasteel Hof (a typical Flemish estaminet or bistro, serving comfort food in a cosy setting) and the remarkable Jardin du Mont des Récollets, inspired by historic Flemish gardens and including topiary and an area inspired by Brueghel’s Hunters in the Snow.

Have you ever tried a Carbonade?

Made by slow-cooking meat in brown ale with a bit of sugar, smoked bacon, herbs and spices this rich, delicious casserole is the best way to immerse yourself in Flemish flavours. The best part? It’s served with ginger bread toast, and the spices combined with the beef stew is a match made in heaven.

A Super-size Event Visitors in April 2018

get a rare opportunity to watch the Ronde Européenne de Géants Portés in Steenvoorde just east of Cassel. This UNESCO-listed parade held every six years or so features giant carnival figures from all over Europe, the most famous among them Reuze Papa.

Practical information

Enjoy some innovative French cuisine based on edible flowers while discovering Northern France’s botanical gardens and picking up some gardening tips along the way.

While enjoying classic French cuisine is one of the great pleasures of holidays in Northern France, the region is also home to a new wave of innovative chefs working with local flowers and plants.

Nowhere is this more in evidence than at the Table du Jardinier at the Jardins de Valloires near the french coast. Here, exciting dishes using plants from the botanical gardens include a salad of ground ivy and Bayonne ham, pike perch with nasturtiums and crayfish pesto, and crême brûlée with sweet woodruff. Before or after lunch, wander the botanical gardens and glean some ideas for improving your own garden back home.

In Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, on the french coast, the stylish Table des Corderies in the chic hotel of the same name serves creative and traditional french food including foie gras with seaweed, scallops with foraged herbs, and a dessert of saffron mousse. The chef picks up himself its flowers in the Somme Bay or at the Herbarium. Stay the night and offer you a spa weekend breaks in its sea-view spa. Or in nearby Le Crotoy, head for Auberge de la Marine, where recipes featuring local plants – some foraged – include duck tenderloin braised with sea buckthorn, in a light sauce of carotte des sables (carrots grown in sand) with orange.

Cultural Discovery in and around Cambrai

Challenge your perspective with a visit to the Cambrai Musée des Beaux-Arts, with works by Ingres and Rodin; the Matisse Museum, with France’s largest collection by the painter; and Musée de la Dentelle in Caudry where the lace on Kate Middleton’s wedding dress was made. Less than an hour’s drive away is the Louvre Lens, with meticulously chosen works from its big sister in Paris. Dining options are aplenty. Do try the Château de la Motte Fénelon’s restaurant Le 109, with dishes that include veal caramelised in Belval Abbey honey, with sand-grown carrots and white-onion sauce. Let yourself be tempted by boulangeries, farmshops and markets, and bring a piece of France home with you from the Halles Cambrésiennes or Bétises de Cambrai Afchain (boiled sweets). Maroilles CheeseIf you fancy a slower pace, Mormal Forest, damaged in the war, is a peaceful walking spot, with roe and red deer and boar. Pretty Maroilles, home to one of France’s most pungent cheeses, hosts a fleamarket in June and a Fête Flamiche in August (flamiche is a tart). Practical Information.

On 9th April 2017, representatives from several countries came together in the Arras region to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Battle of Arras.

The Battle of Arras was a British led offensive on the Western Front in April 1917. Given the extreme danger faced by soldiers in preparing this offensive, a vast underground network of tunnels below the town was used for its preparation. Traces left by the soldiers who went into battle on the morning of 9th April 1917 can still be found in the cool damp of Wellington Quarry’s underground tunnels. It’s hard to imagine the town’s state of ruin in 1918 as one strolls beneath the arches around the two main squares. Reconstruction works restored Arras’ town-hall and belfry to their original splendour, as well as the Flemish baroque-style houses around the squares. Sitting at one of the cafés on Place des Héros is the ideal way to soak in the unique architecture and atmosphere. To the North of Arras, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a peaceful site, shaped by its terrible past. Children enjoy being taken down into the preserved network of WW1 trenches, where they are welcomed by young volunteer guides from Canada, who explain the preparations for the assault launched by the Canadian forces on 9th April 1917.
 

UNESCO-listed mining basin 

Europe’s two highest slag heaps, in Loos-en Gohelle, offer a panoramic overview of the UNESCO-listed mining landscape in Nord-Pas de Calais and, in good weather, Lens (with its Bollaert-Delelis stadium and the Louvre-Lens Museum, showing works from the Paris Louvre) and even as far as Lille

Let the protected green areas of Hauts-de-France restore you and put you back in touch with your body and its natural rhythms – as well as help you to renew your connection with your partner. Large swathes of this region remain free of urbanisation, and many of them are protected natural reserves too – making this the perfect destination for couples who need to get away from it all and carve out some quality time for themselves. Such spaces include the Baie de Somme – one of the world’s loveliest bays, whose seemingly endless horizons and wealth of wildlife (including a colony of harbour seals) are best discovered via a guided nature walk with a local expert. Soak in breathtaking views (and fresh air galore) from the Deux-Caps, Boulogne-sur-Mer’s ramparts, the cliffs of Mers-les-Bains and Bois de Cise, and Vaux-sur-Somme’s viewing platform. In many places you can glean insider glimpses of local life courtesy of English-speaking ‘greeters’ such as Frédéric Legris, who will take you to see the house of his market-gardener grandparents in the UNESCO biosphere reserve of the Marais Audomarois.