Lens: Art, war & beer

c 9:00 AM: Meeting with your driver-guide at Lens Train Station.

A drive around Lens will allow you to discover how the town has been rebuilt in an Art Deco style after WW1. It will lead you to a former pithead that became a world-class musem.

10:00 AM: Louvre-Lens Museum

5,000 years of history at a glance
Your guide will bring you among collections lent by its Paris counterpart. From Egypt to Persia by
Greece, from Antiquity to Modern Times by Middle-Ages, the tour will make you travel through space and times while staying in one transparent room : The Galerie du Temps (Gallery of Time). Discovery of the temporary exhibition of the Pavillon de Verre (Glass Pavilion).

c 12:00 AM: Lunch at l’Atelier de Marc Meurin.

When he learnt that the Louvre wanted to create a museum in Lens, Marc Meurin, the two-star(2**) Michelin-chef, did everything he could to open a restaurant in the town he is native from. The result of this desire can be seen (and tasted) today in the gardens of the museum thanks to its table called “l’Atelier” (“the Workshop”). 3-courses lunch (drinks to be paid as extra).

For the afternoon, please choose 2 of the 3 following activities:

→ Vimy Ridge Canadian National Monument.
Did you know that, near Lens, 265 acres of land are granted to the Canadian people “freely and for all time”? A visit to the Vimy Ridge will allow you to discover trenches, cemeteries, a moving
monumental sculpture and an outstanding view on the Artois Battlefields.
→ Beer, the drink of Northern France. Brewery tour and tastings.
The centuries-old presence of celts and monks in the area made Northern France a place famous for its beers, most of them brewed with the same recipes and techniques as in Belgium. Your day trip will allow you to discover how this golden beverage is elaborated. 2 tastings (12.5 cl) included.
→ The “Ring of Remembrance” and the French National Cemetery of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
Built on a hill 541 feet high known as the “bloody hill” during WW1, the “anneau de la mémoire” is a 1132-foot perimeter ellipse partially elevated off the ground. The names of the 579,606 Great War
casualties in Nord-Pas de Calais are listed alphabetically rather than by nationality. The memorial sits 180 yards from Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.

With the remains of 44,000 French soldiers, it is the largest French National Necropolis. It houses a
basilica and a lighthouse designated as the Lantern of the Dead.

C 6:00 PM: Drop-off at Lens Train Station.

Note: Twice a year, a world-class temporary exhibition takes place in one of two dedicated aisles of the museum: The Temporary exhibition Gallery. Its visit can be organized in place of an afternoon
remembrance tour. Contact us for further information.C