Northern France will host events commemorating the centenary of World War 1, allowing visitors to remember the fallen in places central to the war. The region offers scenic landscapes, gourmet food, and museums exploring the history of the war. Key sites include the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette memorial engraved with 600,000 names, exhibitions at Louvre-Lens examining art of war, and the Arras museum opening in 2015 using archaeology to study what soldiers experienced. The region also honors Australian and New Zealand sacrifices on the Western Front through sites like Fromelles and Bullecourt museums, cemeteries, and memorials depicting courage in battle.

1. 82 M A G A Z I N E M A G A Z I N E 83
THE SPLENDID SCENERY, FABULOUS MUSEUMS AND LIVELY DINING SCENE IN NORTHERN FRANCE FORM A COMPELLING
BACKDROP TO THE SOBER CENTENARY EVENTS MARKING THE GREAT WAR. BY PERSEPHONE NICHOLAS
Fallen in France
Bitter SWEET
Above: Flemish-Baroque style townhouses and
the imposing Arras Town Hall. Opposite: the
Cobber of Fromelles statue (photo © Flament).
N
orthern France is blessed with
some of the most beautiful and
peaceful beaches in France. Much
of the 140-kilometre Opal Coast
is protected, and the marshland
is home to many species of indigenous flora
and fauna. The region has three forested parks,
plus the highest concentration of museums in
France.
There are art galleries, UNESCO World
Heritage sites (including 17th century citadels
and many historic belfries) and plenty to tempt
the gourmet traveller. Local Michelin-starred
chefs include Marc Meurin, who has four res-
taurants here, and Alexandre Gauthier, whose
restaurant, La Grenouillere, has made the tiny
village of La Madeleine-sous-Montreuil a mecca
for foodie visitors.
The region is located in the centre of the
triangle that links Paris, Brussels and London
and is home to two important cities. Lille, on
the Belgian border, is the regional capital, while
Arras, which is midway between the battlefields
of the Somme and the Ypres Salient, played a
crucial role in the Great War. Arras was virtually
destroyed in the war, but has been rebuilt and
become famous for its elegant city squares.
As the centenary of the Great War beckons,
Northern France – the site of so many historic
battles – will host commemorative ceremonies,
events and exhibitions. These events will help
visitors remember the fallen, and understand
the context of their sacrifice. Recommendations
include:
The International Ring of Peace War Memorial
at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
Designed by architect Philippe Prost and being
inaugurated in November 2014, this huge ellip-
tical memorial is engraved with the names of
600,000 soldiers who died in Northern France.
Former allies and foes are listed side by side,
in alphabetical order and without mention of
their nationality.
The Disasters Of War Exhibition 1800-2014
(28 May-6 October 2014) at the Louvre-Lens
This temporary exhibition brings together a
unique collection of artworks from the Paris
Louvre on the theme of battle through the ages.
A diverse range of media (including painting,
sculpture, graphic arts, photography, video, ins-
tallations and cartoons) explores the dread-
ful consequences of war on humanity and
civilisation.
Archaeology of the Great War exhibition
in Arras
This exhibition opens in April 2015, some 100
years after the first Battle of Artois. It aims to
demonstrate how archaeology can enrich (or
challenge) our understanding of the Great War.
Visitors can gain insight into what soldiers ate,
their religious practices, how they managed
death on the battlefields and more. www.explo-
rearras.com
L I F E S T Y L E I C O V E R S T O R Y I G O U R M E T I A C C O M M O D A T I O N H E R I T A G E & H I S T O R Y I D E S T I N A T I O N I P O R T R A I T
HIKING AND CYCLING
TRAILS IN HOMAGE TO
THE DIGGERS
Northern France is home to many sites
that bear the scars of two world wars and
commemorate the sacrifice of those who
fought here. Visitors can now explore the
Remembrance Trails by hiking or cycling.
There are several routes, including the
Battle of Fromelles trail, which enable
visitors to retrace the footsteps of the
diggers. There is an illustrated guide for
each route, which can be downloaded to
any device.

2. 84 M A G A Z I N E M A G A Z I N E 85
THE AUSTRALIAN
REMEMBRANCE TRAIL
The Australian Remembrance Trail (www.
ww1westernfront.gov.au/) is a ‘trail within the
trails’ that honours and commemorates the ser-
vice of Australians on the Western Front (some
48,000 were killed here). It links some of the
most important locations in the nation’s history.
These include the newly upgraded Museum
Jean and Denise Letaille - Bullecourt 1917.
Exhibits include a poignant collection of per-
sonal effects and memorabilia that help reveal
the human tragedy behind the two Battles of
Bullecourt. Almost 11,000 diggers were killed or
injured in these offensives.
The new Museum of the Battle of Fromelles
tells the story of Australian soldiers’ first conflict
along the Western Front. Many survived the
eight-month campaign in Gallipoli only to die
here. The battle on 19 July 1916 left more than
5,500 wounded, dead or missing, and is often
described as ‘the worst 24 hours in Australia’s
war history.’
The new military cemetery at Fromelles
is the first new Commonwealth War Graves
Commission cemetery for more than 50 years. It
was created after the major archaeological dis-
covery of a mass grave at Pheasant Wood, where
the bodies of 250 Australian and British soldiers
were found. These men were reburied with full
military honours.
Melbourne sculptor Peter Corlett’s famous
‘Cobber’ statue stands in the Australian Memorial
Park nearby. It shows Victorian farmer-tur-
ned-soldier Sergeant Simon Fraser of the 57th
Battalion, who disobeyed orders to leave the
trenches and recover wounded soldiers lying in
no-man’s land.
Below – International memorial to the 600,000 soldiers
who fell across Northern France during WW1 (photo ©
AA Philippe Prost).
Below – serving of carbonnade flamande
with fries, a speciality of Northern
France (photo © Xavier Nicostrate).
L I F E S T Y L E I C O V E R S T O R Y I G O U R M E T I A C C O M M O D A T I O N H E R I T A G E & H I S T O R Y I D E S T I N A T I O N I P O R T R A I T
GREAT GOURMET EXPE-
RIENCES IN NORTHERN
FRANCE
1. Tasting the fresh seafood at La Mate-
lote in Boulogne. Or savouring the
wood-smoked fish at JC David’s
workshop.
2. Brushing up your cooking skills with
Michelin-starred chef Marc Meurin
at Le Chateau de Beaulieu in Busnes.
There’s a sommelier on hand for wine
tips, too.
3. Exploring the Marais Audomarois, a
vast UNESCO heritage-listed market
garden laced with canals and wate-
rways. Look out for local specialties
including chicory and cauliflower.
4. Discovering some of the region’s
simple pleasures on the local beer and
cheese routes.
5. Experiencing culinary heaven at la
Grenouillère, the hip new restaurant
from Alexandre Gauthier in La Made-
leine-sous-Montrueil.

3. 86 M A G A Z I N E M A G A Z I N E 87
THE COURAGE OF THE KIWIS
New Zealand too made a valiant contribu-
tion to the Great War. More than 100,000 Kiwis
enlisted and traveled to the Western Front to
fight. Like their Australian counterparts they
sustained heavy losses; around 12,500 men
died and more than 40,000 were injured here.
Kiwi courage is particularly remembered
at two important locations. The Wellington
Quarry is now a museum that tells the story
of how Kiwi tunnellers helped create a laby-
rinth connecting the old chalk quarries beneath
Arras. In April 1917, thousands of soldiers hid
here and waited for a huge explosion, the signal
to rise and attack enemy troops.
The New Zealand Memorial at Le Quesnoy
commemorates the bravery of the Kiwi soldiers
who liberated the fortified town in November
1918. They breached the German defence with
artillery, and climbed over the town walls using
ladders in a medieval-style attack that surprised
and defeated the enemy.
Further Information
Northern France Regional Tourism Board
www.northernfrance-tourism.com
www.remembrancetrails-northernfrance.com
Memorial relief sculpture at the Le
Quesnoy New Zealand Memorial (photo
© S Dhote); sculptures in the Time
Gallery of the new Louvre-Lens Museum
(photo © Louvre-Lens/Philippe Chancel).
L I F E S T Y L E I C O V E R S T O R Y I G O U R M E T I A C C O M M O D A T I O N H E R I T A G E & H I S T O R Y I D E S T I N A T I O N I P O R T R A I T
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