This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Best known for its port, Northern France’s sprawling Pas-de-Calais region has long been popular with weekending Parisians drawn to its dune-backed, sandy beaches, medieval cathedral towns and tranquil, UNESCO-listed waterways and marshlands.
As you might expect in France, food is an equally important part of its appeal. Often overlooked by overseas travellers, the region is just two-and-a-half hours’ drive north of the French capital and easily accessible by Eurostar via Lille. As well as superb seafood, expect punchy and often pungent cheeses like maroilles and locally brewed, Belgian-style beers.
Recently, the area has also been rising to prominence as a fine-dining destination, with a growing number of celebrity chefs opening Michelin-starred farm-to-table restaurants in historic chateaux and mansions.
Five places to try
1. Maison Renard, Béthune
Most visitors to the charming town of Béthune come for the art deco architecture and 14th-century, UNESCO-listed belfry. Since 2023, however, Maison Renard — the first restaurant from TV chef Sébastien Renard — has proved just as much of a draw. Served up in a grand, fin de siècle villa, Renard’s elegant dishes include john dory with white asparagus, and elderflower and lamb confit with herb gnocchi. He also gives cookery classes and there are guest rooms above the restaurant. Tasting menus from €43 (£37) for three courses with wine. From €135 (£115), B&B.
Guest at Maison Renard have three different multi-course tasting menus to choose from.
Photograph by Laurent Rose
2. Maison Wident, Saint-Omer
Known locally for its exceptional selection of cheeses, charcuterie and great-value lunches, deluxe deli and restaurant Maison Wident is set among the gabled, Flemish-style houses on the main square of the lovely, canal-webbed town of Saint-Omer. Daily changing dishes include veal tagliatelle or just-caught fish with vegetables. €16 (£14) for a charcuterie and cheese platter, salad and a glass of wine or beer, or €12 (£10) for a main course and pudding.
3. Les Piquinettes, Marais Audomarois
There’s nothing quite like savouring the sound of birdsong as you tuck into hearty local cuisine alongside the canals of the Audomarois marshes. This outdoor version of an estaminet (a rustic Flemish restaurant serving traditional local dishes) is set in Les Faiseurs de Bateaux boatyard on the outskirts of Saint-Omer. Homecooked specialities such as carbonnade flamande (braised beef stew in a beer-rich sauce or chicken with maroilles cheese sauce) come with freshly picked salad and frites. €15.50 (£13) per main or €21 (£18) for a main course with a waffle, coffee and beer or wine. Canal boat tours are also available.
4. Restaurant Bacôve, St-Omer
Having triumphed in 2018’s Top Chef, Camille Delcroix opened Restaurant Bacôve in 2021, which has already garnered a Michelin star. It specialises in inventive dishes featuring locally sourced ingredients; dinners kick off with memorable amuse bouches such as rich, indigo-hued lollipops of foie with blackberries, followed by sweetbreads with the local Tilques carrots and caviar or shiitake mushrooms with pureed potatoes and beurre blanc. Tasting menus: four courses €84 (£72) or €98 (£84) for five.
5. La Marie Galante, Audresselles
Just yards away from the wonderfully wild, dune-filled beach in the small fishing village of Audresselles, La Marie Galante is exactly the kind of traditional, beamed-ceiling seafood bistro that France does so well. Platters of fruits de mer come piled high with the house speciality of local blue lobster, along with crab, prawns and whelks. Be sure to leave room for simple, buttery, grilled Dover sole or other catches of the day. Seafood platters from €24 (£20); mains from €20 (£17).
The restaurant at Château de Beaulieu focuses on locally sourced and seasonal ingredients while the bar features an extensive wine cellar.
Photograph by Laurent Rose (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Florian Salesse (Bottom) (Right)
Experience
Distillery Persyn, Houlle
This award-winning, family-run distillery in the sleepy village of Houlle, on the banks of the Houlle River, has been producing genever — often described as a cross between gin and whisky — since 1812. Persyn is France’s oldest working grain distillery and its genevers, made using rye, malted barley and oats, have won three awards in the World’s Best Gin Awards in recent years. A tour takes visitors to the large, traditional copper pot stills unchanged in style since the 19th century and includes a tasting and a genever miniature. Tours €7.50 (£6) per person.
Château de Beaulieu is a 17th-century chateau, hidden away in the countryside near the hamlet of Busnes.
Photograph by Studio Helle 99
Where to stay
Château de Beaulieu, Busnes
Hidden away in the countryside near the hamlet of Busnes, this 17th-century chateau has been restyled as a Relais & Châteaux gourmet getaway. The brainchild of illustrious chef Christophe Dufossé (a former colleague of Alain Ducasse, among others) and his wife Delphine, Château de Beaulieu features a two-Michelin-star restaurant, a spa surrounded by fairytale woodlands, as well as organic kitchen gardens and a farm for rescued animals.
Locally sourced dishes in the fine-dining restaurant include saddle of rabbit with rhubarb confit, and monkfish with stuffed morels and veal jus, with optional wine pairings from the extensive cellar. There’s also an excellent-value brasserie. Doubles from €260 (£222), room only.
Getting there:
Eurostar trains from St Pancras Internationals to Lille take one-and-a-half hours — with return fares from £78. The easiest way to tour the region is by car, with ferry/Eurotunnel ports in Calais — or rent on arrival. Béthune is just under one hour’s drive from Lille station. Avis has rental cars from £130 for two days. avis.co.uk
More information: Pas-de-Calais Tourism
This story was created with the support of Pas de Calais tourism and Eurostar.
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