After an unprecedented year for tourism across the world, visitors to Hauts-de-France have plenty to catch up on in 2022.  France's northernmost region is the UK's closest international self-drive destination offering a truly authentic French experience on our doorstep.  With its fantastic choice of beaches, fascinating cities and towns, gourmet experiences, historical tours and beautiful gardens, discover what's new in the region with hotels, sporting events, restaurants and a whole host of new activities to sample.

Gourmet Treats – Region of Gastronomy for 2023

The Hauts-de-France region offers a host of tempting gourmet experiences. Visitors can choose from a huge choice of restaurants, brasseries, and cafes; innovative meals from Michelin starred chefs, as well as simpler but equally delicious traditional dishes, along with markets galore offering the riches of local produce.  This has been recognised with the confirmation that the region will be the official European Region of Gastronomy in 2023.  This award was made based on Hauts-de-France's commitment to sustainability, the excellent quality of the local produce and the rich and diverse offerings of the region.

New openings include Bacôve, a new gastronomic restaurant in Saint Omer whose chef Camille Delcroix is the winner of a former edition of Top Chef France and will be serving dishes cooked with local produce from the Audomarois Marshes.  In Montreuil-Sur-Mer, renowned Michelin starred chef Alexandre Gauthier recently opened the Grand'Place Café, to add to his other three restaurants in town.

Other chefs cooking up a treat in the region include young Michelin chef Sebastien Tantôt at the A La Bonne Idée restaurant in St Jean aux Bois in the heart of Compiègne Forest and Anthony Denon, chef of l'Auberge du Jeu de Paume in Chantilly.

Cycle Heaven along La Velomaritime

Summer 2021 saw the full opening of the Velomaritime cycle route - the French section of the EuroVelo 4 Central Europe Route - connecting Roscoff in Brittany to Kiev in Ukraine on a 5,100km route through seven countries.  Offering a magnificent coastal cycling route along the coast of the English Channel and the North Sea, it covers over 1,500kms and encompasses three French regions, all with stunning coastal landscapes. With plenty of bike-friendly restaurants, cafes and accommodation options along the route, it offers cyclists the perfect way to explore the coast, get away from it all and admire fantastic scenery and breathtaking views.  For a truly eco-friendly holiday, cross the channel with your bike, and follow the route along the coast. Highlights in Hauts-de-France include Boulogne-Sur-Mer and the seaside resorts of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, Berck and Wimereux.

New Hotels and Luxurious Spas

Marotte, Amiens – new Spa and hotel in a 19th century bank

In Amiens, visitors now have the perfect base from which to explore this stunning city with its floating gardens and majestic cathedral, at the boutique 5-star Marotte Hotel which has opened a new building with additional bedrooms, a new restaurant and spa. Until now, there were just four suites and 8 bedrooms in the original Marotte, which opened in 2012.  Late 2021 saw the opening of a fantastic new area of the hotel in a 19th century building on Rue des Jacobins with 21 bedrooms spread over three floors.  Dating from 1854, the building originally housed the Banque de France, and then the tax offices – and in a neat play on words the restaurant has been named 'Gallerie des Recettes' (recettes translates as both tax and recipe in French!).  Interiors integrate original 'belle epoque' features such as the marble fireplaces, doorways and coving, with more contemporary style.

The new 350 sqm Spa – set in the former vault of the Banque de France - includes a sauna, steam room, sensory shower, polar bath, snow shower, ice tub, sensory trail and treatments.

Domaine Natureza - A new eco-friendly tree house resort near Arras

The new Domaine Natureza estate in Rœux, near Arras is set in a wooded park and offers guests a unique place to relax and recharge in beautiful natural surroundings.  Cabins on offer include a Lake Hut set on the lake surrounded by a terrace, a loft style Fisherman's Hut with jacuzzi, an underground 'Hobbit' Hut with a panoramic view of the lake and a 'Love Nest' up on stilts suspended between the trees.

Radisson Blu Grand Hotel & Spa, Dunkirk/Malo Les Bans – due to open 2022

The Radisson Grand Hotel in Dunkirk - built on the seafront over four floors, is a new hotel in a retro style, reminiscent of the Malvinas villas of the Belle Époque.    With its 110 rooms and suites, seminar rooms, restaurant and shops – it is part of a more extensive facelift on the seafront in Dunkirk.  It will also feature a balneotherapy area of ​​over 1000 m², with a swimming pool, spa, hammam, sauna, solarium, private à la carte treatment cabins and a large outdoor terrace.

New Hotels in Arras

The beautiful city of Arras also sees two new openings.  The Best Western Plus Le Fairway opened in 2021 and makes a fantastic base to explore the area.  This four star hotel is convenient for Arras, with its lively squares, as well as the Wellington quarries and is adjacent to Arras golf course.  Also new in 2021 was the Ibis Styles in Arras, a stylish, contemporary property with 91 rooms, just a short walk from the central square.

The Louvre Lens Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

The Louvre Lens is the second most popular museum in France outside Paris and turns 10 in 2022.  It will mark its first decade with two exhibitions. 'Rome: La Cité et L'Empire' from 6th April to 25th July offers a retrospective view of Roman civilisation from 753 BC to the fall of the Empire in 476 AD with a collection of art and antiques from the Paris Louvre. This will be followed by a 'Hieroglyphics' exhibition from 28th September to 16th January 2023.

'Speed' Exhibition at Le Musée National de la Voiture in Compiègne:

A new exhibition dedicated to 'speed' will run at the Musée National de la Voiture in Compiegne's chateau until 28th March 2022.  The exhibition, in the rooms of the chateau, houses a display of vehicles over the years exploring the human fascination with speed, from Roman chariots to one of the carriages specially designed for the emperor Napoleon III and from 'La Jamais Contente', the first road vehicle to go over 100 kilometres per hour in 1899 to the latest record-breaking vehicles.  Vehicles on display include a Bugati, Maserati, Lotus, Bentley, Mercedes and Ferrari.  

New Remembrance Experiences:

Wellington Quarry, Arras

November 2021 saw the reopening of the remarkable Wellington Quarry in Arras following a comprehensive renovation to offer visitors a more immersive hands-on experience. An exhibition outlines the 1917 Battle of Arras before visitors head underground to see where WW1 soldiers secretly tunnelled in preparation for an attack on German lines, following their life underground. The tunnels were so elaborate that they even housed a working hospital for the British Army and Allied Powers fully equipped with 700 beds and operating theatres. Reminders of courage are still in situ, such as the image of a soldier's sweetheart etched on the tunnel wall. 

CWGC Experience in Beaurains

A must see is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Visitor Centre (CGWC) in Beaurains, about an hour from Calais, now accessible to British visitors once more. Opened shortly before the pandemic, the award-winning CWGC Experience provides visitors with an insight into how some of the world's most recognisable war memorials are maintained.  Visitors can watch headstones being engraved and have an overview of the workings of the CWGC's metal and carpentry workshops.  There's also an exhibition showing how fallen soldiers are recovered from the battlefields and then identified which is an ongoing project. In France, there are over 20 CWGC national memorials and approximately 3,000 cemeteries which are cared for by the commission who are the largest employer of gardeners in the world.

New Jules Verne Itinerary in Amiens

With its majestic UNESCO-listed gothic cathedral – one of France's most impressive – as well as a rich WW1 history, Amiens is a great alternative city break destination.  Amiens is also home to the Maison de Jules Verne, known as the 'House with the Tower', where writer Jules Verne lived from 1882 to 1900 and wrote most of his 'Extraordinary Voyages' novel.  New for 2022 is an innovative discovery route taking visitors on an exploration of the creative genius of the author using technology, street art and a monument to his infamous 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  The Maison de Jules Verne offers a fascinating insight into the 'father of science fiction' as every room in the house from the ground floor to attic transports visitors to a different world and into the imagination of the writer. 

Re-opening of the Chateau of Villers-Cotterêts

This magnificent renaissance chateau which is undergoing a major restoration will reopen in 2022 housing the 'Cité Internationale de la Langue Française'.  This former royal residence was built by François I on the edge of the forest of Retz where he loved to hunt.  In 1539, an Ordinance was signed there which imposed the use of the French language in administrative and legal acts. This link with the French language endured over the centuries: François Rabelais stayed at the château, Molière presented Tartuffe there and Alexandre Dumas was born in Villers-Cotterêts. The new 'City' will link the past, present, and future of the French language and will be a space for the discovery of French-speaking cultures.

Looking Ahead

Slightly further forward on the calendar but worth noting is the Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille event which will take place in July 2022 and is hosted in the grounds of the chateau with a range of events surrounded by some of the most beautiful cars in the world. Also in July 2022, Hauts-de-France is hosting 2 stages of the Tour de France which will be Calais to Dunkirk on 5th July and Lille to Arenberg / Porte du Hainaut on 6th July 2022, a must-see for cycling race enthusiasts.  Whilst rugby fans should take note that the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be hosted at 9 venues across France from September to October 2023 including Lille.

To find out more and to plan a visit to Hauts-de-France, visit Hauts-de-France Tourism – Official Website (hautsdefrancetourism.com)

For further ideas on accommodation in Hauts-de-France, visit www.french-weekendbreaks.co.uk