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" I am a local lad first and foremost, a true "Ch’t'i"! I was born in Lens and I spent my childhood in Violaines before attending the Lille School of Hotel Management. I was self-taught and learnt my trade by cooking our region's great products on a daily basis. After taking over a little café in Laventie, I opened my restaurant in Béthune. A first, and then a second star, were awarded for the teamwork. I now have the opportunity to serve a customer base of both regulars and tourists in our Relais & Châteaux de Busnes, at the Louvre Museum in Lens and in our restaurant in Lille. The Nord Pas-de-Calais region is certainly worth a trip for its cuisine, heritage and beautiful landscapes… "
To give you inspiration, Relais & Châteaux presents the Routes du Bonheur: suggestions for travel itineraries that you can fully personalise according to your wishes and the experiences you would like to discover. Our consultants are available to help customise your route and assist you in making reservations at our properties. It is up to you to reserve any recommended activities on-site or nearby that might interest you.
*Total price provided for information only, based on accommodation for two people in a double room for the number of nights per property as indicated on this page, exclusive of recommended activities, properties that cannot be reserved online and restaurants.
Hotel and restaurant in town. The rooms open out to an enclosed garden, a small oasis of greenery where the organic herbs, fruits, and vegetables that supply the restaurant are grown. Stunningly, this is in the heart of Old Lille, in an 18th century private mansion with beautiful classic lines.
Protectors of an undeniable charm, ceilings, floors, and antique woodwork have been conserved and are boldly married with the contemporary decors of the rooms, as well as works of art scattered throughout the hotel: it was indeed designed to be a genuine cultural space. At the restaurant, the chef produces a creative and "astounding" cuisine emphasizing local and seasonal products.
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Restaurant and hotel in a park. The Château de Beaulieu is an architectural gem with elegant facades and interiors in a romantic park, one hour from Le Touquet, between the Opal Coast and Belgium. The subtle balance of classic architecture and contemporary art makes this the perfect setting for what is one of the top restaurants in the region. Chef Marc Meurin pays tribute to Pas-de-Calais producers by using ingredients like Boulogne-sur-Mer scallops, Étaples bass and other fish from the North Sea. Meurin believes that “because of the currents in the nearby sea, the fish become strong and daring, which enhances the quality of their taste”. Savour his creations in two glass-roofed restaurants.
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Founded in 1926, this microbrewery has become a reference across the north of the country. The Castelain family has owned the brewery for over 50 years. From one generation to another they have managed to develop typical beers from our region. This is demonstrated by the Ch’ti blonde beer, a great traditional beer! You will also be able to taste the Anosteké blonde from the Pays Flamand Brewery, Trois Monts from the Saint-Sylvestre Brewery or Page 24 from the St-Germain Brewery. I like to use these northern beers when I'm creating sauces (with turbot) or in fritter batter…
The Louvre Museum, Lens
Having been asked to create a cooking workshop at the museum, I was fortunate enough to be able to keep a close eye on the work on the new Louvre. What a pleasure the project was! Imagine Master pieces amid the slag heaps… The paintings are not on the walls here, they are on show in the middle of the rooms instead. You can walk around them in this modern, Japanese-style and made to measure setting. Our restaurant located in the park is like a gift from heaven for us!
It's a huge market! You can find anything there: from toilet cubicles to Master paintings… It's a great place to go when you want to meet up and enjoy mussels and French fries. Real mountains of shells rise along the pavements at the end of the event. It's also an excuse to have a party! When I was younger, I bought old coat hangers, brass bottles and copper pots there. I used to look for items related to catering, kitchen utensils and porcelain cats, which we used to collect!
This is one of the most unique places that I have been lucky enough to experience. And it's only a few kilometres from our house. This former swimming pool has been converted into a beautiful museum. You can walk along the corridors between the Master paintings. My favourite painting, Cock fight in Flanders, which was painted by the Belgian artist Rémy Cogghe in 1889, can be found here!
Hotel and restaurant in the country. La Grenouillère, originally a typical regional family restaurant, has become under the amazing starred Chef Alexandre Gauthier,one of France's most inventive chefs, a place which is definitely out of the ordinary. The century-old buildings have been preserved, but two sleek new metallic marquees by architect Patrick Bouchain have redesigned the property. The restaurant, which now opens out onto the garden and greenery, serves a radical cuisine, one that is rooted in the local area and uses freely and imaginatively ingredients from the sea and from hunting and gathering. You can extend your sensory experience by staying in one of the huts in the garden.
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Hotel and restaurant in a village. Lindsay and Christian Germain, the owners of this manor house just a stone’s throw from Le Touquet and the Channel Tunnel, have combined the best of England and France to make a visit to the Château de Montreuil an absolute must. When English charm meets French fine dining, it makes for a seriously enjoyable stay. Lunch on the terrace, dine with friends, or simply relax in the flower garden with a book, a glass of champagne, or a cup of tea, at what was once the country retreat of the Wooster/Rothschild family. A stroll along the ramparts of the town and some of the finest beaches on the Opal Coast await.
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I often come to this little port. You can come and breathe in the atmosphere and buy your fish as early as 8 am. Many little stalls sell the day's catch there. Scallops, sole, turbot, cod and flounder for a little weekend in Le Touquet… The sea fishing aquarium-museum is also nearby. It is a little-known yet quality tourist attraction.
Nausicaá is an incredible centre dedicated to the sea which is located between the beach and the city port. The site has assembled some 40 aquariums and terrariums since 1991 and is home to nearly 36,000 marine species (the giant shark tank is amazing!). Films and wonderful displays for all generations are shown. But there is no age limit when it comes to touching the rays or spotted dogfish…
This is a place that I especially like. The Audomarois marshlands extend over more than 3,700 hectares and 700 km of waterways (of which 170 km are navigable). The monks who settled here were the first to cultivated these fertile soils. Today, forty market gardeners still produce beautiful vegetables here, including the cauliflowers that I cook in my restaurant. Emphasising the relationship between the land and its people, the marshlands were recently awarded the "Man and Biosphere" label by UNESCO.
The northern belfries
Built between the XIth and XVIIth centuries in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands, these belfries still dominate the scenery. In Gothic, Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque styles, they once performed multiple functions: watch towers, prisons, safes, etc. They are still a symbol of this region and were classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005. Some of my favourites are: Béthune, Bergues, Calais, Arras and Armentières…
The Somme Bay
The Somme Bay lets you leave your daily life behind. It's a place of escape where you can even find seals! Its vast beaches are open to the wind and your thoughts and the walk will offer you great solitude. The lights are exceptional all day long. Head to the Marquenterre park to admire thousands of birds in spring and summer...
Philippe Olivier's Cheeses, Boulogne-sur-Mer
Philippe Olivier was chosen as the best cheese maker in France in 1996 and comes from a long line of cheese makers. His family has been collecting, producing and selling cheeses since 1907! Favouring small producers, his raw milk cheeses are carefully matured in his cellars in Boulogne-sur-Mer. So how could you possibly leave his shop without buying some Maroilles, Avesnes or Cambrai boulette, Crayeux de Roncq or Sire de Créquy?
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