Last chance: ‘Au charbon!’ at the Centre Historique Minier de Lewarde

📅 Until May 25, 2026 — ongoing exhibition
📍 Centre Historique Minier — Fosse Delloye, Route de Douai, 59287 Lewarde

Don’t miss the final weeks of the ‘Au charbon! Pour un design post-carbone’ exhibition, labelled France Design Week 2025. Over 40 works by designers and artists from France, Belgium, Sweden and Argentina exploring how design can respond to post-carbon challenges.

A thought-provoking exhibition that reimagines the industrial heritage of the mining basin for tomorrow’s world.

Art Deco Fortnight in Lens-Liévin: dive into the Roaring Twenties!

📅 May 18 to 29, 2026 (Art Deco Spring: April 3 – May 31)
📍 Lens-Liévin — Lens railway station, Faculté Jean Perrin and city centre

Lens-Liévin is hosting its Art Deco Fortnight with a rich programme celebrating the architectural heritage born from reconstruction after World War One. The mining basin hides remarkable Art Deco treasures shaped by the post-war rebuilding period.

Guided tours, artistic workshops, themed dance evenings — a unique programme to discover the Roaring Twenties spirit of the region.

European Night of Museums at the Lewarde Mining Historical Center: free on May 23!
📅 Saturday May 23, 2026, from dusk until midnight

📍 Historic Mining Center of Lewarde, Fosse Delloye, rue d’Erchin, Lewarde (59287)

The largest mining museum in France opens its doors free of charge on the evening of May 23, 2026, as part of the 22nd edition of the European Night of Museums.

The Lewarde Mining Historical Center, located on the site of the Fosse Delloye, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers a unique dive into the history of mining. Reconstructed underground galleries, impressive machines, testimonies from miners… an exceptional heritage to discover in a very special nocturnal atmosphere.

Museum Night is the perfect opportunity to come (or return) to discover this emblematic place in the mining area with the whole family. Entrance is free for the evening, with special entertainment and a unique atmosphere in the evening light.

To prepare for your visit, consult the complete program on the official CHM Lewarde website. A moment of memory and culture not to be missed!

Share the event with your family and friends – an unusual evening in the depths of the working history of the North awaits you!

Spring of Art Deco in Lens-Liévin: a unique mining heritage to rediscover in May
📅 From April 3 to May 31, 2026 — Guided tours in May: May 9, May 23 and May 30

📍 City center of Lens, Jean Perrin Faculty (former Grands Bureaus des Mines), Dourges, Aix-Noulette

Until May 31, 2026, the Art Déco Spring celebrates the unique architectural heritage of the mining basin. For its 8th edition, this regional festival takes you to discover the jewels of the interwar period in Lens-Liévin and the entire region.

The Art Deco Fortnight concentrates its events from May 18 to 29 in the Lens-Liévin urban community. On the program in May:

May 9 at 10:30 a.m. — Guided tour of downtown Lens
May 23 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. — Essential visit “Art Deco in Lens”: Place Jean Jaurès, Reconstruction facades, Lens train station (45 min)
May 23 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. — Creative jewelry workshop inspired by Art Deco geometric shapes
May 30 at 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. — Visit to the former offices of the Société des Mines de Lens

Visits, conferences, workshops and shows — all in buildings classified as UNESCO World Heritage! Reservation with the Lens-Liévin Tourist Office on 03 21 67 66 66.

A great way to (re)discover the built heritage of your region. Come and share your most beautiful photos of the Art Deco architecture of the mining basin!

📅 From April 3 to May 31, 2026 (ongoing)
📍 Béthune-Bruay Tourist Office and Béthune town center (62400)

We often know Arras for its Art Deco, but Béthune-Bruay hides an equally remarkable heritage – and much less frequented! The Spring of Art Déco invites you to (re)discover it until May 31.

After the Great War, the mining area was rebuilt at high speed in a sober and functional Art Deco style. Geometric facades, ornate ironwork, imposing public buildings… and the Roger Salengro swimming pool in Béthune, a true little-known gem of 1930s architecture.

On the program: thematic guided tours led by guide-lecturers, practical stained glass, mosaic and ironwork workshops for young and old, and discovery tours in the city center to do at your own pace.

A unique way to understand how the mining basin was rebuilt after 14-18 and to appreciate an industrial and architectural heritage often ignored by passing tourists.

Complete program on pas-de-calais-tourisme.com

You have until May 31 to explore this unique heritage — take advantage of spring to explore it!

What if you discovered the secrets of the Arras Belfry from the inside? Until June 4, 2026, the Arras Tourist Office is offering a unique guided tour: “One to one with the carillonneur”.

The belfry of the Arras Town Hall is one of the symbols of the city, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But who really knows the secrets of his carillon? This guided tour takes you to meet the carillonneur in person, to understand how this exceptional instrument works and hear its story.

An intimate experience, far from the usual tourist circuits. We go up to the floors, we discover the bells up close, and we leave with anecdotes that classic visits do not share. The kind of release that we still talk about long after.

The visit is accessible to all and takes place in small groups. An original way to rediscover Arras, even if you know it well.

Practical information:

Until June 4, 2026 (Wednesdays) — Hôtel de Ville, Place des Héros, 62000 Arras

Price: from €5.50 — Reservation: 03 21 51 26 95 or arraspaysdartois.com

Share this idea for an outing with your friends — Arras still has surprises to offer!

Did you know that Arras has an exceptional Art Deco heritage? Until May 31, 2026, the Spring of Art Déco invites you to discover it differently, thanks to guided tours and creative workshops.

Organized by the Arras Pays d’Artois Tourist Office with several cities and countries of art and history in Pas-de-Calais, this event offers thematic visits lasting 1h30 led by passionate guide-lecturers. There we discover the Art Deco facades of the heart of Arras, born from the reconstruction after the First World War, and the interior of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church with its remarkable stained glass windows.

Also on the program: creative workshops around artistic crafts (stained glass, ironwork, mosaic), retro bus tour and costumed activities in the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties.

Practical information:

Until May 31, 2026 — Price: €8.70 / Reduced: €4.20 / Free -6 years

Reservation: 03 21 51 26 95 — pas-de-calais-tourisme.com

A great opportunity to (re)discover Arras from a new angle. To share with your loved ones!

Have you ever had breakfast 20 meters underground? This is what Carrière Wellington in Arras offers with its “Underground Breakfast” experience, available until July 18, 2026.

The concept is as original as it is unforgettable: a guided tour of the underground galleries dug by New Zealand soldiers during the First World War, followed by a real English breakfast served on site. On the menu: tea or coffee, bacon, beans, porridge, pancakes and orange marmalade — prepared by a chef from the Arrageois restaurant L’Œuf ou la Poule.

The atmosphere is unique: in the tunnels of 1917, with history weighing on your shoulders. It’s both cultural, gustatory and truly exotic. An outing that will be remembered for a long time.

Practical information:

For 2 to 6 people — Bring warm clothing — Reservation required

Rue Delétoille, 62000 Arras — Tel. : 03 21 51 26 95

Book on the Wellington Career page.

An unusual outing perfect for a group of friends or a birthday. Share the info!

There are 20 meters under the cobblestones of Arras, another world awaits you. The Wellington Quarry is one of the most moving memorial sites in our region.

In 1916, New Zealand tunnel boring machines dug and connected the ancient medieval quarries of Arras to create a network of underground galleries capable of housing up to 24,000 soldiers. On April 9, 1917, these men emerged to the surface to launch the Battle of Arras. Many did not come back.

Today, this place of memory opens its doors every day, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The visits are only guided (with guide and audio guide), which guarantees an immersive and educational experience. We descend 20 meters, helmet on our heads, and we discover the dormitories, the inscriptions left on the walls, the soldiers’ daily objects.

Currently, a special exhibition on “personal memory” is offered to families until April 26. An additional opportunity to live an extraordinary experience with your children.

Whether you are passionate about history or simply curious, the Wellington Quarry is an experience that leaves no one indifferent. A must for memory tourism in Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

📍 Carrière Wellington — Rue Delétoile, 62000 Arras

📅 Open every day 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Family exhibition until April 26, 2026

🔗 More info: careerewellington.com

At the heart of the mining basin, the 9-9bis site in Oignies continues to honor the memory of the miners with a new exhibition open since April 4, 2026.

It is called “Going back to the day, living with risk, questioning the limits”. Its title says it all: it explores what it meant, for a miner, to go down to the bottom every morning and come back up in the evening – knowing that nothing was ever guaranteed. Risk was part of everyday life, of the profession, of identity.

The exhibition is visible from Wednesday to Sunday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and entry is free. It will be present until December 6, 2026, so you have time to discover it.

And if you want to go further, guided tours of the site are always offered at €3. A heritage mediator takes you to explore the rooms of the hanged, the machine building and the other remarkable buildings of this site, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012.

The 9-9bis is much more than a museum: it is a living place, a place where the history of our families in the mining area takes on its full meaning. A visit to take, to share, to pass on.

📍 9-9bis — Rue Alain Bashung, 62590 Oignies

📅 April 4 – December 6, 2026 — Wed-Sun 2 p.m.-6 p.m. — Free entry

🔗 More information: 9-9bis.com