Lac du Val-Joly - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The Maubeuge zoo is a zoological park located in Maubeuge, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Today, the zoo is known for its particular setting, in the very heart of the ramparts of Vauban, and the hundreds of animals present there: giraffes, hippos, white tigers, etc. Today it covers an area of ​​7 hectares on which are distributed 350 animals of 56 species.

The Avesnois Regional Natural Park is a regional natural park created in March 1998, which extends over nearly 125,000 hectares in the south of the Nord department. It is one of the richest areas in biodiversity in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, playing an important role of “reservoir” for the regional green network. The many meadows and the rich calcareous lawns also contribute to its biodiversity. One of the nice locations for a trek and also a good place for a nature walk.

The Bavay Ancient Forum is an archaeological museum located in Bavay in the Nord department, France. The site Bagacum Nerviorum gradually discovered during archaeological excavations in the xix th and xx th centuries. The current museum was opened in 1976 and has a good number of collections from other places, from other regions. Some of these collections have gone to enrich the funds of other organizations. A must-see place in this area which shows light to history.

The Mormal forest is the largest forest in the Nord department. It is the only one sheltering a population of deer, having for origin, like wild boars and roe deer, a reintroduction, because the large mammals had completely disappeared there, following intensive hunting after the French Revolution. This is massive for the North of France an essential part of Natura 2000, the Pan-European Ecological Network, and the green belt region.

A huge museum which displays the paintings by Henri Matisse was located at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France. It was established by Matisse himself on 8 November 1952. After the death of Matisse, the collection of the museum was enlarged by the gift of 65 paintings by Auguste Herbin. It displays more than 170 Matisse works, as well as 65 paintings by Auguste Herbin. Now, this museum has the third-largest collection of Matisse works in France.

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin is a cultural landscape that stretches across around 4,000 hectares and is full of technical and architectural treasures resulting from three centuries of coal mining which was located in Northern France. This place illustrates a significant period in the history of industrialization in Europe. It includes mining pits, lift infrastructure, slag heaps, coal transport infrastructure, railway stations, workers’ estates, and mining villages and so more and these made