FrenchDuck’s databank
Nord Pas de Calais

Calais is celebrating the opening of a new space for the arts at the old Abattoir, now known as “le Channel”. This is an interesting complex of buildings which lends itself to a wide range of artistic events - performance (theatre, music, dance) and art exhibitions in a number of different sized and venues. From 27-31 December 2007 the mini-festival of Feu d’Hiver (Winter lights) is held with a wide array of events and displays.
For more info see www.lechannel.org
Also see the Calais Cote d’Opale Tourist Office

For the Christmas Market in Arras (62 Pas-de-Calais) which runs from 30 November - 24 December 2007 there is a touch of the Alps with a Swiss Festival being the highlight on Saturday 1 December - Swiss music, art, cheese will endow the Grand Place with a real alpine feel.
For the rest of the month there will be plenty of seasonal cheer and stalls to explore - Christmas decorations, wooden roses, stained glass, Laguiole knives, teddy bears, arts and crafts - gastronomic delights will include honey, foie gras, chutneys, regional specialties from the Auvergne and SW France, mulled apple juice, mulled cider, mulled wine, oysters and roast chestnuts - all within the setting of the impressive Grand Place in the centre of town. And less than an hour from Calais it could add a real touch of France to your (long) day trip or weekend - or a brief detour off the main route to Paris!
For more info see www.ot-arras.fr

The town of Licques (62 Pas de Calais) about 16 miles south of Calais holds its annual Turkey Festival (Fête de la Dinde) in the run up to Christmas (15-17 December 2007). This involves herding the doomed birds through the town with a competition for the best bird. These Turkeys are prized for their moistness and flavour.
There is also a food market (Marche de Terroir) running throughout the weekend which will feature the local liqueur, the Licquoise.

For more info see www.licques-volailles.fr

Until 20 January 2008 there is a splendid exhibition of Marc Chagall’s ceramics at the art-deco gallery at La Piscine de Roubaix, the coverted 1930s municipal swimming pool at Roubaix near Lille (59 Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais).

The building itself is well worth a visit tastefull renovated retaining and enhancing the art deco features, whilst the original design of the swimming pools lends a real sense of spaciousness - don’t fall in to the water though!

Whilst there you could stay at the Jardin d’Alix B&B in nearby Tourcoing which is on the main tramway line into the centre of Lille.

For more info on the Musée de la Piscine de Roubaix see www.roubaix-lapiscine.com

If you miss Christmas market in Lille (59 Nord) which closes on 24 December 2007 you can always try the New Year Market (Marche de l’An Neuf) which runs from 26 December to 6 January 2008. Held in the Place Rihour, the emphasis is on local crafts, but with all the decorations and the Carousel in the Grand Place still operating, the atmosphere should be really festive.
For moew info see www.marche-an-neuf.com

Etaples (62 Pas de Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) celebrates its 15th Herring Fesitval (Fete du Hareng Roi) on the weekend of 10-11 November 2007.
Etaples is an important centre for commercial (and amateur) fishing on the English Channel (or French Manche) at the mouth of the River Canche, close to classy Le Touquet. This version offers grilled, smoked and marinated herrings plus stories of the sea! (see www.etaples-tourisme.com)

Alternatively, the following weekend (17-18 November 2007) Boulogne-sur-Mer holds its Herring Festival with the addition of sea-shanties and the arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau, which happens to be quite a good food and wine combination! (see www.tourisme-boulognesurmer.com)

Boulogne-sur-Mer (62 Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) celebrates Christmas well with a particular focus on Christmas foods.
On Saturday 1 December 2007 the St Niicholas parade through the town announces the arrival of the Christmas culminating with a firework display down at the port.
The following weekend (Sat 8th and Sun 9th December) the Christmas Market is held in the Old Town. The Old Town is well-worth visiting and is quite a surprise after the rather soulless modern town (well, 50s/60s) - and seeing as Boulogne’s weekly market is one of the better ones, then at Christmas it should be great. Music and fireworks complete the festive atmosphere.

Lille takes Christmas seriously with the city brightly decorated and a big ferris wheel in the main square,

With Christmas fast approaching, Lille is decked out in lights and colour. Around the market, the whole town is covered in a huge crown of garlands.

In the period just before Christmas, Lille is vibrating with colours and lights. The Chalets which make up the Christmas market are installed for a month on the Place Rihour, just 50 metres from the Grand’Place. The craftsmen and stallholders extend their warm welcome and look forward to putting forward their ideas for new and original gifts. Amongst the articles to temps you, there will be local produce, samplings, Christmas decorations, jewellery, toys…

A stone’s throw from the Christmas Market, the big wheel majestically turns on the Grand’Place and offers a fascinating view over the world of the city. And when you come back down to earth a glass of mulled wine will work its magic on you.

For more info see www.lilletourism.com

London - Lille by Eurostar in 100 minutes

Most French autoroutes between major towns and cities are toll motorways, which whilst often offering fast and uncrowded dual-carriageways, can nevertheless add significantly to the cost of a trip through France - e.g over €90 (over £60) on a one-way trip from Calais to Nice (1226km of motorway driving about 760 miles).

However there are significant sections of autoroute which are toll free - most often these are around major towns and Cities (Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon etc).

In the North, the A16 is toll-free from Boulogne (J29) to the Belgian border (J36) via Calais and Dunkerque. The A25 from Dunkerque (J20) to Lille is free, so you can reach Lille from the main Channel ports without paying a toll!. Also all routes from Lille to the Belgian border.
The following autoroutes are toll free (as at September 2007)
A16 (part of the Autoroute des Estuaires (estuaries)) from Boulogne-sur-Mer (J29) to the Belgian border(J36)
A20 (L’Occitane) from Vierzon (J6 junction with A71) to Brive-la-Gaillarde (J53) via Chateauroux, Argenton and Limoges
A25 from Dunkerque (J20 with A16) to Lille
A28 from Abbeville (J1) to Rouen (J14)
A30/A31 (Autoroute de la Vallée de la Fensch) from Thionville (J1) to Toul (J12) via Metz and Nancy
A38 from Dijon (J33) to Pouilly-sur-Auxois (J24 and the junction with the A6)
A63 (Autoroute de la Cote Basque) from Bordeaux to Bellin-Bellet (J20)
A64 (la Pyreneenne) from St Martory (J20) to Muret (J25)
A68 (la Tarnaise) from Monastruc (J3 NE of Toulouse) to Albi (J11) via Gaillac
A75 (la Meridienne) from Clermont-Ferrand (J15) to Pezenas (J59) (except for the Millau Bridge) via Issoire
A77 (Autoroute de l’Arbre (trees)) from Pouilly (J26) to Nevers (J37)
A84 from Caen (J46) to Rennes (J25) via Avranches

With the 2007 Rugby World Cup kicking off in early September, it is worth knowing when and where the matches are to be held - if only so that you can avoid the additional heavy traffic for several hours around the match time. Particularly susceptible to congestion will be the Paris Peripherique and the A1 autoroute entry to the city - the Parc des Princes and Stade de France are both close to the autoroute and peripherique, and if match time is anywhere near the evening rush hour the traffic will be even more chaotic.
For more details on the Rugby World Cup CLICK HERE
For map click (more…)

The annual Salon des Vignerons Independants (independent winemakers) takes place in Lille Grand Palais - hundreds of producers from all over France offer tastings and sales at vineyard gate prices - sample, chat and learn and buy - just in time to stock up for Christmas PLUS Lille is a lively city with great restaurants and shopping - and a Vauban citadel!
See more about Independent Winemaker Wine Fairs.
For places to stay in Lille see Le Jardin d’Alix and more info on Lille

London - Lille by Eurostar in 100 minutes

Every first weekend in September, ever increasing numbers of people enjoy this great annual rendezvous of flea market fanaticism, bric a brac hunting, bargaining, and amateur salesmanship. The Braderie: a 48 hour festival of brocanteurs all around the city of Lille.
But be warned, this is a very popular event, so hotels are likely to be fully booked and car parking at a premium - many roads in the centre of the town will be closed.
For more info see www.mairie-lille.fr

Lille (59 Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) is a big and vibrant northern French city which is well worth a visit – but it’s not somewhere I associate with peace and tranquility.

We go most years to the Independent Winemakers Fair held in the Lille Grand Palais every November (16–19 November in 2007) and stay in city centre hotels – all very convenient for the wine fair, shops, restaurants etc.

But there is another option, which offers a bit of respite from the buzz of the city centre, but without losing ease of access.

The Jardin d’Alix (Alix’s garden) Chambres d’Hote (B&B) is in Tourcoing, part of the greater Lille conurbation, North East of Lille city centre. The stylish accommodation is set “amid a large garden with mature trees and rose bushes – a little piece of countryside close to the city.” The other bonus is that the property lies within 20 minutes reach of Lille’s historic centre, thanks to the tramway which leaves from just outside!

An added bonus means that you will also be near to the quite stunning Roubaix Piscine – the Museum of Art and Industry (Musée d’Art et d’Industrie de Roubaix) housed in an Art Deco swimming pool – a conversion undertaken by the same architect who transformed an old railway station into the fabulous Musée d’Orsay in Paris. It is worth visiting for the building itself, but the museum exhibits and paintings are seriously good – see http://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com

For more on the B&B see http://www.lejardindalix.com

Georgia v Namibia in Lens

South Africa v Tonga in Lens

England vs USA in Lens

Peniche Fantasia in Wambrechies (59 Nord, Nord Pas de Calais) on the outskirts of Lille(see map) This one offers wood-panelled rooms and air conditioning, and is moored in the centre of the town for easy access by bus into the heart of Lille in about 30 minutes.
For more info see www.peniche-fantasia.fr
Peniche Fantasia Au Port de Plaisance, 59118 Wambrechies 0 T: 06 82 27 92 61

Dunkerque (59 Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) - Gand (Belgium)

for more info click here

Salons des Vins (Wine Fairs) - Vignerons Independants (Independent Wine Makers) 2007.
Open to the public, a small charge gives you access to hundreds of wines and winemakers from all over France. Here you can taste and buy wines, often at cellar door prices - as long as you can carry them. Meet the winemaker, discover new wines - enjoy!

Rennes (35 Ile-et-Villaine, Bretagne) 13-15 April 2007
Lyon (69 Rhône, Rhône-Alpes) 25-29 October 2007
Reims (51 Marne, Champagne-Ardenne) 9-12 November 2007
Lille (59 Nord, Nord Pas-de- Calais)16-19 November 2007
Paris (Porte de Versailles) 22-26 November 2007

The number of budget airline routes to France from the UK is continuing to grow, as is the number of French destinations - no longer restricted to the major cities. This really does open up some of the less well-known parts of France.
The list below shows the extent of the coverage - and this excludes flights to Paris which are available from most local airports. Some flights are seasonal, so please check with the airline for timetables and availability.