Mines de Beffrois

Le blog touristique du bassin minier

Category: Culture

  • Herbin Exhibition in Le Cateau-Cambresis: Dialogue of Alphabets

    Herbin Exhibition in Le Cateau-Cambresis: Dialogue of Alphabets

    📅 From 23 May to 20 September 2026
    📍 Musee Henri Matisse, Place du Commandant Richez, Le Cateau-Cambresis (59360)

    The Musee Henri Matisse in Le Cateau-Cambresis pays tribute to Auguste Herbin with the exhibition Dialogue of Alphabets. A native of the Cambresis and a major figure of abstract art, Herbin is celebrated for his plastic alphabet and his theories on colour and form.

    This exhibition highlights the dialogue between Herbin’s visual alphabets and the world’s writings, offering a profound reflection on the relationship between art, language and abstraction.

    The Musee Henri Matisse provides an ideal setting for this major exhibition. A must-see for lovers of abstract art and modernism.

    🔗 More info on destination-cambresis.fr

  • Les Folies de Binbin: Valenciennes’ Festive Festival

    Les Folies de Binbin: Valenciennes’ Festive Festival

    📅 From 28 to 30 August 2026
    📍 Valenciennes (59300)

    An unmissable end-of-summer event, Les Folies de Binbin takes over Valenciennes for three days of festivities! This popular festival blends concerts, performances, children’s activities and guinguette atmospheres in a warm and convivial setting.

    The programme promises artistic discoveries, street performances, music for all tastes and moments of sharing with family or friends. The perfect way to celebrate the end of summer before the back-to-school season.

    Les Folies de Binbin have become an essential fixture in the Valenciennes calendar. Each year, the festival renews its programme to offer the best of local and regional artistic creation.

    Join the party in Valenciennes for an unforgettable weekend!

    🔗 More info on valenciennes.fr

  • Summer Programme in Arras: Concerts, Visits and Activities

    Summer Programme in Arras: Concerts, Visits and Activities

    📅 Until 21 September 2026
    📍 Arras (62000)

    All summer long, Arras comes alive with a rich and varied programme! Workshops, concerts, festivals, fairs, performances and guided visits: there’s something for everyone in the City of Squares.

    Highlights include guided tours of the city centre, discoveries of the belfry and town hall, costumed visits of Bours Dungeon, medieval workshops, the Wellington Quarry escape game and numerous summer concerts. The guinguettes enliven the banks of the Scarpe, while heritage visits offer a new perspective on the city’s treasures.

    It’s the ideal season to explore Arras with family or friends!

    🔗 More info on arraspaysdartois.com

  • Exhibition Concrete, Marble, Flowers, Fire at Tank 1917 in Cambrai

    Exhibition Concrete, Marble, Flowers, Fire at Tank 1917 in Cambrai

    Until 13 August 2026, the Tank 1917 in Cambrai presents the exhibition Concrete, Marble, Flowers, Fire, an artistic reflection on materials and nature surrounding the Cambrai heritage.

    An original exhibition
    This exhibition at the Tank 1917, the former Art Deco swimming pool in Cambrai converted into a cultural space, invites you to discover works that blend raw materials and the beauty of nature. Concrete, marble, flowers and fire are the guiding threads of this artistic creation that questions our relationship with heritage and the environment.

    Tank 1917: a unique venue
    The Tank 1917 is an atypical cultural space: a former Art Deco swimming pool beautifully restored to host exhibitions, concerts and events throughout the year. An essential venue on the Cambrai cultural scene.

    Tank 1917, 2 rue de la piscine, Cambrai (59400). Open Tuesday to Sunday. More info at tank-cambrai.fr.

  • Kiosqu’Estival in Lievin: Free Concerts All Summer Long

    Kiosqu’Estival in Lievin: Free Concerts All Summer Long

    From 19 July to 9 August 2026, the city of Lievin presents Kiosqu’Estival, a series of free open-air concerts at the town’s bandstand. Every week, local and regional artists perform to animate the summer evenings of the mining basin.

    Concerts for all tastes
    Kiosqu’Estival offers a varied programme: French chanson, rock, jazz, blues and world music. Concerts take place in the late afternoon and evening, in a relaxed and family-friendly atmosphere. It’s the perfect opportunity to discover local talent while enjoying the beautiful summer evenings.

    Free and convivial
    All Kiosqu’Estival concerts are completely free. Bring your chair or blanket and settle on the bandstand lawn. Food and drinks available nearby to round off the evening.

    Bandstand of Lievin (62800). More info at mag.agglo-lenslievin.fr.

  • Visible Storage Tour at the Louvre-Lens — Behind the Scenes of the Museum Revealed

    🖼️ Visible Storage Tour at the Louvre-Lens

    📅 From 29 March to 31 December 2026
    📍 Louvre-Lens, 99 Rue Valentin Looi, 62300 Lens

    From the Louvre-Lens reception hall, a staircase leads to the museum’s behind-the-scenes areas. The visible storage is a unique space where works are presented thematically, outside the usual display paths.

    It’s an exceptional opportunity to see how a museum conserves, studies and exhibits its collections. Paintings, sculptures, art objects: the reserves offer an unprecedented look at the richness of the Louvre’s collections.

    A visit that changes perspective — here, you don’t just look at the works, you also understand the invisible work that makes it possible to present them to the public.

    Practical info: Included in the Louvre-Lens visit. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.

    🔗 More info on tourisme-lens.fr

  • The Comédie-Française at the Louvre-Lens — Theatre Takes Over the Mining Basin

    🎭 The Comédie-Française at the Louvre-Lens

    📅 From 14 February to 7 December 2026
    📍 Louvre-Lens, 99 Rue Valentin Looi, 62300 Lens

    The Comédie-Française, the oldest theatre company still active in France, takes up residence at the Louvre-Lens for an exceptional season! From classical repertoire to contemporary creations, discover the best of French theatre in the unique setting of the Lens museum.

    This is a rare opportunity to see the sociétaires of the Comédie-Française on stage in the mining basin. A programme that showcases the great works of the repertoire, performed by the actors of the house of Molière.

    The Louvre-Lens thus confirms its cultural vocation for the entire territory — art is not just a Parisian affair!

    Practical info: Reservations recommended. Check performance dates and prices on the Louvre-Lens website.

    🔗 More info on tourisme-lens.fr

  • Exhibition Land Art Mon Amour — Video Art and Photography at the Louvre-Lens

    🌿 Exhibition “Land Art, Mon Amour!” at the Louvre-Lens

    📅 From 5 June to 26 August 2026
    📍 Louvre-Lens, 99 Rue Valentin Looi, 62300 Lens

    This video and photography exhibition, conceived by choreographer Sarah Nouveau, explores the links between art and landscape. Land Art — art that uses nature as its canvas and material — takes on a sensitive and contemporary dimension here.

    Video and photographic works invite you to rediscover the landscape, to see nature as a space of creation and contemplation. The exhibition resonates particularly in the mining basin, where slag heaps and reclaimed landscapes have become works of art in their own right.

    An invitation to look differently at the territory around us — a territory transformed by human hands and then returned to nature.

    Practical info: Included in the Louvre-Lens visit. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Closed on Mondays.

    🔗 More info on tourisme-lens.fr

  • Exhibition Silence After Impact — War Ruins Photography at the Louvre-Lens

    📸 Exhibition “Silence After Impact” at the Louvre-Lens

    📅 From 2 May to 30 August 2026
    📍 Louvre-Lens, 99 Rue Valentin Looi, 62300 Lens

    The exhibition “Silence After Impact. War Ruins Photography” explores the photography of war ruins, from the First World War to the present day. Through a poignant visual journey, discover how photographers have captured the silence of landscapes devastated by conflict.

    From bombed-out Picardy to contemporary ruins, this exhibition questions our relationship with the memory of destroyed places. The images, often silent and striking, confront us with the aftermath — when the din of weapons has ceased and only the visual echo of destruction remains.

    A powerful reflection on war, memory and landscape, in a museum itself located in the heart of the mining basin, a territory marked by conflict.

    Practical info: Entry to the temporary exhibition pavilion. Check times and prices on the Louvre-Lens website.

    🔗 More info on tourisme-lens.fr

  • The Mining Basin & RCL at the Cinema — When Football Meets the Silver Screen

    🎬 The Mining Basin & RCL at the Cinema

    📅 From 20 June to 6 September 2026
    📍 Lens Tourist Office — Place Jean Jaurès, 62300 Lens

    When Racing Club de Lens takes the stage! RCL doesn’t just thrill a stadium: it also inspires cinema. This exhibition-screening dives into the intertwined history of Lens football and filmmaking in the mining basin.

    Through archive images, testimonies and screenings, relive the great moments of RCL and the mining basin as seen by filmmakers. It’s an opportunity to understand how football and mining culture have become entwined to forge the identity of an entire region.

    A rich programme combining sport, memory and cinema — perfect for summer in Lens!

    Practical info: Open Wednesday to Sunday. Check opening times on the Lens Tourist Office website.

    🔗 More info on tourisme-lens.fr

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