Today's Tour is a feature to help you discover the towns within the network by theme. 
It contains ongoing ideas for leisure activities that complete those we offer in the diary. 
A new tour will be offered on a regular basis, but previous ones will always remain accessible. 

Tour No. 1: The Museums.

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tourcoing
(Tourcoing Fine Art Museum)
2, rue Paul Doumer
Tourcoing 
Tel. : +33 (0)3 20 28 91 60 

Open every day from 13.30-18.00 hrs. Closed on Tuesday. 

Entrance free of charge

The Fine Art Museum offers a bold combination of ancient and contemporary works from the 16th century to the present day.
To visit its Internet site: www.musenor.org et www.lille.cci.fr

Tuesday and Friday from 13.00-18.30 hrs. Wednesday and Thursday from 10.00-18.30 hrs. Saturday from 10.00-17.30 hrs. Closed on Monday.

Entrance free of charge

The gallery of the André Malraux media library is remarkable for its high quality photographic exhibitions. It favours black and white photos, and its exhibitors are notable photographers who focus on society.

Opening hours: weekdays from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-17.00 hrs. (closed on Tuesday). Thursday from 10.00-17.00 hrs. Saturday, closes at 18.00 hrs. Sundays from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 15.00-18.00 hrs.

Tariffs : FRF 20 for all the exhibitions. 
Multiple entry tickets available. 
Half price for those aged 6-18, students, teachers, the unemployed, the elderly; free of charge for children below 6 and the first Wednesday and Sunday of each month.

Because the type of its collections, the Arras Museum is today basically a Fine Art Museum. In keeping with the ternary architecture of the abbey, the collections are presented on three levels and make it possible to approach the multiple facets of art history from the end of the ancient times to the end of the XIXth century. It also houses several Mays from Notre-Dame, in Paris in a magnificent room recently inaugurated by the French Minister for Culture, Catherine Trautman.

Permanent exhibition:
The cathedral treasures: sculptures and artefacts bearing witness to the people's piety and providing an opportunity to discover the religious history of Arras. 

Activities: 
Holiday workshops for children aged 7-12 every afternoon from 14.00-16.30 hrs. during school holidays. 
Workshops for adults every Tuesday from 18.30-20.00 hrs. led by an expert in the plastic arts.

Open from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs., closed on Tuesday.

Regular exhibitions, constitution of a collection of modern ceramics, resident artists, educational activities, publication of works on artists. 

Open from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs., closed on Tuesday. 

Inaugurated in 1841, this museum remains a multi-purpose museum organised around four galleries: 
- natural and mineral history, 
- modern art (1950-1970), 
- local history, 
- the Flemish, Dutch, Italian and French schools from the XVIIth to the XIXth century.

The museum only accepts group visits accompanied by a guide, throughout the year. 
Visits must be reserved in advance by the Regional Visitor Centre, 
Tel. 00 32 (0) 57 22 85 84. 

A private house, reconstructed, restored and renovated according to the plans of 1774. Part of the collections was saved in 1914-18. In the pure French style reminiscent of the transition between Louis XV and Louis XVI. Period furniture, paintings and French silverware plus a splendid collection of Japanese porcelain decorate the lounges and the magnificent "boudoirs". 

Open from 1st April-31st October from 10.00-12.30 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs. Closed on Monday. Guided visits on request. Tel. 22 85 84. 

Tariffs for individual visitors: FRB 100. 

Built in 1276, this Hospice was initially a hospital and later became an institution for elderly women. The original building was modified and rebuilt in the 17th century. This museum contains paintings, religious habits, silverware, ancient furniture, the seals of the city, pottery, pewter and lace. 

The collections of the Fine Art Museum are representative of certain schools and notably those of the XIXth and XXth centuries, and consists of paintings, engravings, sculptures and drawings from Mons, Mainaut and Belgium.

However, since the museum became the permanent home of a collection entitled "Fruits d'une passion" (Fruits of a passion), this museum offers an exceptionally full panorama of international arts from the 60s to the 90s, with a happy combination of lyrical abstracts ((Mortier, Lanskoy, etc.) members of the "free" and "new" figurative movements (Atila, Baj, Bertini, Davie, Chaissac, Weiss, Octave etc.), those preferring "narrative" figurative work (Adami, Klasen etc.), and the "new Fauvists" (Castelli, Bach, etc.) and others.

Musée des Arts Décoratifs François Duesberg
(Francis Duesberg Museum of the Decorative Arts)
Square F. Roosevelt, 12 
(entrance via Rue de la Houssière, 2) 
7000 Mons 
Tel. : +32 (0)65/36 31 64 
Fax : +32 (0)65/84 40 70 

Open Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 14.00-19.00 hrs. On other days, possibility of guided tours for groups on prior request to the Tourist Office (Tel. : 00 32 (0) 65 33 55 80). 

Opposite the Sainte-Waudru Collegial Church and in the former premises of the Belgian National Bank, discover an authentic museum of the decorative arts (1775-1825) with not only exotic objects (1795-1815) unique in the word, but also exceptional French gilded bronzes, porcelain, pottery, silver (including some with the famous Mons hallmark) engravings, book bindings and extremely rare and unusual artefacts. 

Open from Tuesday to Saturday from 12.00-18.00 hrs. and Sunday from 10.00 h-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs. 

A typical example of Mons architectures from the XVIth century, this house - based on the former refuge of the Ghislenghian Abbey, contains treasures collected by Canon Edmond Puissant during the years 1880-1934. 

Open from 10.00-18.00 hrs. every day except Monday.

Vincent Van Gogh believed that the Borinage region was just as picturesque as ancient Venice, Arabia and Brittany. The house where he lived from August 1879 until October 1880 was saved from ruin (during the seventies) and is now accessible to the public. It can be considered to be one of the key "milestones" within Van Gogh's travels in Europe. Audio-visual presentation l (Fr/Nl/Eng/Ger) on Van Gogh's stay in the Borinage area. 

Data base on the works and exhibition programme available on the Internet: www.musenor.org

Open every day from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-17.00 hrs. Closed Tuesday. Closed on 01/01, 01/05, Ascension, 14/07, 15/08, 01/11, 11/11 et 25/12.

For all group visits (with or without guide) and for the workshops, it is essential to reserve three weeks in advance.
Guided visits in French and English.
The museum is open to groups from schools on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and from 14.00-17.00 hrs., plus Saturday from 10.00-12.00 hrs.

Entrance is free for groups from schools and their accompanying persons, for those under 18, and on every first Saturday of the month and every Saturday during July and August..
Full price: Fine Art: FRF 12 ( (1.83 Euro) - Archaeology: FRF 7.50 (1.14 Euro).
Reduced price: Fine Art: FRF 6 (0.91 Euro) (and for groups as of 15 persons) - Archaeology: FRF 3 (0.46 Euro).
Joint entrance to Fine Arts and Archaeology: FRF 15 (2.29 Euros).
Free entrance for establishments within Douai

Guided visit (1 hr.) FRF 200
"Si le musée m'était conté" (The museum speaks) (1 hr.): FRF 200
Workshop ( 1 hr. 15 mins.) : FRF 250 limited to 20 children, material provided by the museum.
Free entrance for museum play itineraries for non-guided visits, available on request in order to better prepare a group visit (level required: 7-12 years).

Typical of French Flanders with its facades of brick and raised stones of the XVIth to XVIIth centuries, the former Chartreux convent houses the DOUAI Museum (classified as a historical monument since 1931). 
Passing through the cloister, the refectory, the capitular room and those of the former private house, the visitor discovers the collection of paintings: the schools of Northern France (polyptiques of Bellgame and Van Scorel,  Jordaens, and Ruisdael) and the Italian school (Véronèse, Ludovico Carrache). The French school of the  XVIIth, XVIIIth and XIXth centuries is illustrated by the works of Chardin, Lebrun, Nattier, Corot, Boudin, Renoir, Pissarro and Cross. 
Relief map of Douai dated 1709. 

Exhibition programme 
- 22nd May - 30th August 1999: French pottery in the collections of the Douai museum
- 25th September - 31st December 1999: Théophile Bra (1797 - 1863) : "Le dessin parle" (Drawings speak) (1826-1855) A utopian sculptor dreaming of a museum of peace. 
- 4th March - 26th June 20000: Sculptures by Jean de Bologne et his studio. The Michael Hall collection (American collector) 
- Autumn 2000 : Opening of the Chartreux Chapel: Sculptures, artefacts.

Open daily from 14.00-17.00 hrs. (except Tuesday, Sunday and public holidays) 

Entrance free of charge 

Augustin Boutique (1862-1944), an amateur photographer, dedicated his life to photography and placed his talent in the service of the heritage of monuments from Douai and Northern France between 1894 and 1914..
He travelled throughout France, taking photographs of monuments in major cities and brought back remarkable views of his travels in Europe...
The photo library has conserved these 25,000 photographs, of which some may be consulted on the premises.
Photographic exhibitions available: 
Festivals and Giants of the North - The North at work - Fortified towns of the North - the North and the sea - the North: water landscapes - Castles of the North - Women of the North.

Open every day except Tuesday, from 10.00-18.00 hrs. Thursday until 20.00 hrs.
Entrance: FRF 20, reduced price FRF 10. 

Open Wednesday to Sunday, from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs.
Entrance: FRF 20, reduced price FRF 13. 

Among other discoveries, the museum presents the history of the town, presented on the basis of its relief map and a slide show. 

This completes the collections of Cambrai's Fine Art Museum. 

Open daily from 13.00-18.00 hrs. except Monday
Entrance free of charge 

Please note! The museum will close on the evening of 11th July before moving to its new premises on Rue de l'Espérance in Roubaix, where it will re-open in the autumn of 2000. 

Opening hours. Monday from 14.00-18.00 hrs., Friday from 10.00-19.00 hrs., other days from 10.00-18.00 hrs., closed Tuesday
Tariffs : FRF 20 and 30, joint ticket for 3 museums: FRF 120 - FRF 70 per year.

The Museum re-opened in 1996 and now has a surface area of 22,000m2. Today, it includes teaching rooms, an auditorium and a library of art history. 
It can now hold major exhibitions such as that on Goya, which closed last March. Workshops are organised for young children to help them better discover the museum's treasures.

Currently showing: Jeanclos exhibition

Open from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs. Closed Tuesday. 

Installed in the former tobacco warehouse, the Port Museum presents the history and operation of the port of Dunkirk, one of Northern France's major maritime ports and the 3rd largest in France. 
Visitors discover the wide variety of professions and activities related to a port, the major stages in the port's development plus a remarkable collection of ancient models.

Opening planned in 2000.

Open on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month from 09.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs.
Length of the visit: 1 hour 

This former blockhaus of the commanders of the 15th German army has been transformed into a museum. It was here that the message from Radio London announcing the Normandy landing was decoded. 
Visit this museum on the Internet: www.audomarois-online.com

Centre d'histoire locale
(Local History Centre)
11 bis, place Ch et A. Roussel
Tourcoing 
Tel : + 33 (0)3 20 27 55 24

Open every day from 9.30-11.30 hrs. and 14.00-17.00 hrs. Closed Tuesday. Weekend from 14.00-18.00 hrs. 

Entrance free of charge.

This centre houses the town's heritage museum and that of the Ferrain area. It includes collections of archaeology, history, plus local and regional ethnology.. 
Visit this museum on the Internet : www.cdt-nord.fr

Open from 15.00-18.00 hrs. in July and August, or upon request. Contact the Tourist Office.
The President of the Archaeological Society is Mr. Defossez, lawyer. 

This is a historical museum presenting objects from archaeological digs from the following periods: 
- Gallo-Roman, including a vase with figure from Sains du Nord 
- Merovingian: arms and jewellery from the cemeteries of Ferrière la Grande and Avesnelles, 12th century illuminated manuscripts from the abbey of Liessies, and statuaries from the 14th and 17th centuries.

Open in summer. Group visits upon request throughout the year. 

The association for the creation of a museum of the Two Wars aims to unite all elements that bear witness to these historical period in Dunkirk's history..

Open from April to October from 10.00-12.30 hrs. and from 
14.00-18.00 hrs. 
From November to March from 10.00-12.30 hrs. and 14.00-17.00 hrs. 
CLosed Monday, 1st January and 25th December. 

Price for individual visitors: FRB 100 

The new concept of this museum reveals the evolution of teaching within the Ypres region from 1253 until the present day ... or from the days of wax tablet to the computer age. 
The entire presentation is modern and attractive, and uses didactic material such as images, books and photographs. Faithful, meticulous reconstructions of a class from the 1700s and another from the 1930s are particularly outstanding. 
The visitor may take part in an "active class", and even sit on a former school bench and use a slate and pencil.
Temporary exhibitions illustrate and explain certain topics related to the subject. 

Open daily from 1st April - 30th September, from 10.00-18.00 hrs. From October to March, from 10.00-17.00 hrs. Closed on Monday. Closed at Christmas, on New Year's Day and the 3 weeks following the Christmas holidays. 
The sale of tickets is closed one hour prior to closing.

Tariffs for individuals: 
Adults FRB 250
Children aged 7-12, FRB 125
Families (children up to 15) FRB 625.

Experience the 14-18 war at first hand. 

"Pleins feux sur les gens ordinaires" (Spotlight on ordinary people)
In Flanders Fields is not a traditional war museum. It does not present commanders and strategists, but simple people who were affected by the war. Soldiers, nurses, refugees, children, etc. It is their adventures who take the spotlight.

"Que d'histoires" (Just stories)
The generation who lived through the 14-18 war is disappearing. And so oral testimonies of the war are dying along with them. In Flanders Fields aims to preserve these stories for today's younger generation, as an ongoing plea against war and a cry for peace.

"Un musée de guerre pour la paix" (A war museum for peace)
The battles of Ypres are of ill repute throughout the world. For four years, the German and Allied troops fought without obtaining a decisive victory. The introduction of new weapons, such as gas, land mines and missiles rendered the situation even more atrocious. The result: 1,200,00 inured and 500,000 dead. 

"Le premier musée de guerre interactif" (The first interactive war museum)
In Flanders Fields uses advanced technology: computers, video film and interactive models. Thanks to multi-media systems, history comes alive. In addition, you may explore history in greater depth thanks to interactive CD-ROMs..

Open from April to October, and from 10.00-12.30 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs. From November to March, from 10.00-12.30 hrs. and 14.00-17.00 hrs. Closed on Monday, 1st January and 25th December. 

Tariffs for individual visitors: FRB 100.

This museum, housed in the former Saint-Jean Hospice, retraces the secular history of the city of Ypres by means of ancient maps, images, paintings and archaeological discoveries.. 
The museum also gives and impression of the evolution of the fine arts in Ypres from the 16th century to the present day: fine paintings, sculptures, silverware, peter, furniture and porcelain. The "Halle aux Draps" appears in images from 1250 until its destruction in 1914. One part of the museum is devoted to the history of the bishopric of Ypres. 

Open daily from 10.00-19.00 hrs. 

A hilltop preserved as it was in 1918. Collection of rifles, machine guns, bayonets, mortars, photographs, slides, various items of equipment, aeroplane propellers, etc. Mine craters and concrete shelters. 

Open daily from 10.00-19.00 hrs. 

Tariff for individual visitors: FRB 150. 

Area preserved as it was in 1918. Trenches, galleries, ancient weapons and ammunition, etc. 

Open from 1st February until 15th December, and from 10.00-19.00 hrs. Beyond these times, open to groups upon prior reservation only. 

Tariff for individual visitors: FRB 80.

Beyond photographs, weapons and traditional material, this new museum reveals several scenes of war in their real size. A stained glass window shows the belfry tower burning on 22nd November 1914. 

Open Tuesday to Saturday from 12.00-18.00 hrs., and Sunday from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs. 

a) War museum 1914-1918 and 1940-1945 
The collections devoted to the two World Wars are the most comprehensive in Europe from a British point of view (14-18) and one of the most interesting from and American point of view (40-45). 
b) Ceramics Museum 
The municipal ceramics collections, formerly presented at the Centenary, are now shown at the François Duesberg Museum of Decorative Arts, at the Vieux-Nimy Museum and the Jean Lescarts Museum. These collections unite items manufactured locally from the XVIIIth to the XXth centuries, in porcelain, biscuit china and ancient stoneware, plus ancient pottery from Brussels, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland and specimens of Chinese and Japanese art. 
c) Numismatics Museum 
One of the most attractive and interesting Belgian collections of coins, medals and engravings of particular historical interest. 
d) Museum of pre-historic, historical and Gallo-Roman Archaeology
A chronological overview of the occupation of the Haine valley during the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Gallo-Roman and Merovingian periods.

Internet: www.pastel.be/mundaneum

Open from Tuesday to Friday, from 10.00-18.00 hrs., and on Saturday and Sunday from 12.00-20.00 hrs. 

The Mundaneum is both a museum and an archive and documentation centre. The inheritor of the International Bibliography Office created by Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine in 1895, it unites documents on all subjects and all periods.
It presents a collections of posters, post cards, and newspapers (100,000 titles), plus documentation on anarchy, feminism and peace.
A large proportion of this documents have been digitally recorded and are now accessible on a computer screen. 
Via a scenography by Schuiten and Peeters, the museum retraces the development of the Mundaneum from its first steps in 1895 to the present day.

Open from Tuesday to Saturday from 12.00-18.00 hrs., and on Sunday from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and from 14.00-18.00 hrs. 

The former infirmary of the Convent of the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady (Congrégation des Filles de Notre-Dame) (1636) today houses collections focused around various topics of local life in Mons; public assistance, popular devotion, weights and measures, etc.

Open from May to September every Saturday and Sunday, from 15.00-18.00 hrs. Others day on prior request.

This museum, dedicated to history and local folklore notably owns a rich collection of ancient pipes. The focus is also on the remarkable production of the reputed Nimy pottery (1789-1951), and on other regional manufacturers (Saint-Ghislain, Wasmuël, Thulin, etc.). These were originally collections from the former Ceramics Museum within the Centenary Museums.. 

Every 3rd Sunday of each month, from 14.00 - 18.00 hrs.

Tariff: FRF 90 per hour for a group of maximum 19 persons

Visit the tower of the Saint-Christophe church and discover Tourcoing in a unique way.

The former parish cemetery of Sainte-Waudru, the "Attacat" precedes the Chapel of Sainte-Marguerite d'Antioche. A Romanesque building from the XIIIth century, in flint and sandstone, it includes unique pieces worthy of particular interest. Wooden statues from the XVth to the XVIIth century, silver, ancient fabrics (IVth-XIXth centuries), liturgical ornaments (XVIth-XVIIIth centuries), etc.

Open every day except Monday, from 13.30 -18.00 hrs. (17.00 hrs. on Sunday), from March to end November, or upon request to the Tourist Office.

In the ancient capitulary room, a collection of souvenirs of Sainte-Waudru (a ring and a clasp called the "Benoîte Affique" said to belong to the saint), manuscripts, silver plate from the XIIth to the XIXth century, statues conserved from Jacques Du Broeucq, sacred ornaments, not for getting the famous "Car d'Or".

Open daily, except Monday, from 12.00-18.00 hrs. Sunday from 10.00-12.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs.

The most ancient religious monument in Mons, this chapel from the XIIth century was decorated with romanesque frescos discovered in the XIXth century and reconstituted in the XXth century. 
Museum of the Comte Castle: A building from the XIth century with crypt. A heritage building. Vestiges, models and archaeological finds. Audio-visual presentation on the restoration of the adjoining belfry. 

Open from 14.30-18.00 hrs. every Sunday from May to September. Closed on Trinity Sunday. For groups, open all year upon request. 

This museum evokes the rich tradition of processions in the Hainaut region. Over a thousand miniature figures parade before the visitor's eyes in an impressive procession, and headed by the famous "Car d'Or" de Mons.

Open from Monday to Saturday, from 13.00-16.00 hrs.
Entrance free of charge. Guided visits on request.

Collections of geology, mineralogy. Exhibitions on various themes in the field of earth sciences, the environment and new technologies. 

Open from Monday to Friday, from 8.30-12.00 hrs. and 13.00-17.00 hrs.
Entrance free of charge. 

One of Belgium's most attractive natural history museums. A lively presentation of fauna and flora. Major general and regional collections of zoology and osteology. The museum also houses and exceptional piece: the skeleton of Julius Koch, alias Constantin the giant, who measured 2 metres 56.

The exhibition cycle accompanying the change of century was inaugurated in 1999. The current theme is water; in 2000 it will be water and followed by extinct animals in 2001.

Entrance: FRF 6, reduced tariff FRF 3
Possibility of joint ticket for the Chartreuse Museum: FRF 15, reduced tariff FRF 7.50
42 show cases present the region's history from  its origins to the middle ages. Two bird rooms and one with butterflies. 

21 aquariums present freshwater and seawater fish.
Guided visit of the aquarium free of charge on reservation. 

www.ful.ac.be/hotes/amusette

Open the first Sunday of the month, from 14.15-16.15 hrs. or daily on request.
Open the last Wednesday of the month, from 14.15-16.15 hrs. Or daily on request. 

A lively museum for children, dedicated to water in all its forms.

Open every Sunday from 10.30-12.30 hrs. or on request.

A collection unique in Belgium of former road construction equipment, signposts, etc. 

Open on Sunday from 15.00-18.00 hrs.