13 October 2024

Croix, Lille

Visits to Croix and adjoining communes, in September 2024 by Tim Thomas, were inspired by reading a post on The Good Life France titled The sparkling Beer scene in Lille, northern France. This included a section on Brasserie Cambier, one of three 'brilliant Lille brewers' featured.

Without a car or a bicycle, all travel to visit Brasserie Cambier in Croix and nearby Heavy Brique, a Brique House taproom, just across the southern boundary of Croix in Villeneuve-d'Asque, was by public transport and on foot.
Croix - accessible via M2 metro and R tram from Lille and Roubaix
Croix is about 3 km southwest of Roubaix and Croix is also bordered by Wasquehal to the west and Villeneuve-d'Ascq to the south. Croix is about 7 km northeast of the centre of Lille and is part of  the Metropole Europeenne de Lille (MEL).

Ilévia is the public transport operator for the Lille Métropole, the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Lille in northern France. It operates a mixed system, comprising buses, trams and a driverless light metro system. Photos above show the platform at Croix Centre metro station and a tram at the southern end of Parc Barbieux between Villa Cavrois and Bol d'Air stops.

Heavy Brique


In the extreme north of Villeneuve-d'Ascq commune, this Brique House taproom / restaurant is located within La Maillerie building at 132 All. des Mannequins. 
The ground floor of Heavy Brique (HTSM) is open all year. In summer months it's supplemented by a popular rooftop bar separated from the ground floor by a multi-storey garage. Opening hours are 12 noon-12 midnight (Mon-Sat) and 10.45 - 15.00 hrs (Sunday).
The ground floor premises with glass windows has a large 850 square metre floor area and high ceilings. It has several different areas and can accommodate up to 300 people with seating at a mix of bar stools, small tables, some large tables and a lounge area. 
The best way to get an idea of the size of the place is to watch a video from the Brique House website made to promote the venue for private hire. The website also includes interior photos.
The long bar has 30 beer taps set in a wall behind and there is a separate food bar.
Tim visited on a wet Tuesday evening after a ride on the R2 tram (green line) from its northern terminus, Roubaix Euroteleport to Bol d'Air, near the southern end of Parc Barbieux, followed by a 1 kilometer walk westwards.
Arriving soon before the end of the daily 5pm-7pm 'Happy Hour', a 50cl glass of Superdelic Wanderlust NEIPA, reduced from 7.50 to 6 euros, a collaboration between Brique House and Berlin's Unverhopft, was the first beer of the trip, enjoyed at a small table by a side end of the bar. 
Instead of a printed menu, it's necessary to find menu details online using a QR code on the table. After explaining this, the waiter later returned to take the order for Chicken Maroilles, prepared with a sauce made with Maroilles cheese, a strong smelling cow's milk cheese, which is locally produced and supplied in rectangular form. 
He soon returned as the dish was not available and instead Flemish Carbonnade was ordered (16.90 euros). The beef stew was served on a board with salad and fries and a basket of bread. A tasty and satisfying first meal of the trip. There are nine 'sharing' items, 3 salads and 15 items in 'The Brewery' section of the menu to choose from.
Free standing tall fridges have bottles of Brique House beer to take away after payment at the bar. Tim chose 33cl bottles of Chateau Binouze (Saison, 3.40 euros) and Super Coron (Belgian pale ale, 2.50 euros) to take back to his holiday accommodation at Plaine Images and enjoy later that evening. This destination was reached after a ten minute walk to Croix-Centre metro station and a ride on the M2 metro (red line) just beyond Roubaix to the Alsace - Plaine Images stop.
Other Brique House taprooms are located in: 
Lille, near Lille Flandres and Lille Europe stations - Hein Brique House - includes a microbrewery;
Saint-Andre-Lez-Lille, 5 km north of Lille Flandres - Brique Land - pizza menu;
Paris, near Grands Boulevards metro - Brique Machine;
Reims - Brique House;
Bordeaux - Back Yard Brique House
The Brique House brewery is at Motherland, on an industrial estate 10 km southeast of Lille Flandres.

La Maillerie and La Branche de Croix

La Maillerie project - image from www.lamaillerie.fr/le-projet
The large area of new buildings that links Villeneuve d'Ascq and Croix includes the Maillerie building with its rooftop garden in the north east corner of the site. A video, La Maillerie 2019, shows the previous buildings on the site and its transformation into the concept illustrated above. Since 1852 it was the site of the Holden company until its demise. Founded in Roubaix in 1932, as a wool spinning mill, the 3 Suisses redeveloped the site in 1956. The company became a giant in mail order catalogues and later online sales of clothing and furniture. The project website includes a site history page with further details. A concurrent development that reaches to the north west corner of the La Maillerie site is the revival of 'La Branche de Croix'. 
Photos from a related post on Twitter / X by Metropole Lille / MEL
A post by Lille Actu reported that with its inauguration in Wasquehal on 4 October 2024, the 'dead arm' of the Roubaix canal - La Branche de Croix - has found a new life with a green space spanning Wasquehal, Croix and Villeneuve d'Ascq. The 30 million euro project, which started in 2022, included cleaning of the canal bed and removal of polluted sediments, restoration of the banks, new quays and four new footbridges. 


Brasserie Cambier


The Brasserie Cambier bar and shop is open Wednesday to Saturday. Hours are 4pm - 10pm (Wed-Fri) and 10am - 8pm (Sat).
It's situated 700 metres north west of Croix-Centre metro station along the tree-lined Rue de la Gare and just beyond a water tower.
Tim arrived on Wednesday at 18.30 hrs and found that both inside and outside spaces were busy.
The bar area includes windows into the brewery, seating and a darts board to the right of the entrance.
Tim's first draught beer (La Dame Jeanne - 25cl / 3.60 euros) was brewed in collaboration with La Dame Jeanne Craft Beer Shop & Bar, situated about 4 kilometres north of the brewery, near the Trois Suisses stop of the T tram (blue line) from Lille to Tourcoing.
From an initial rather windy and chilly standing position outside, Tim came inside to order his second beer and found a stool to perch on, by a handy shelf, with a view of the bar. 
The draught Brasserie Cambier NEIPA Mosaic / El Dorado (25 cl / 4 euros) was hazy and juicy and less dry than the previous beer.
It's nice when a brewery features colourful original artwork on their labels and also displays it on the walls. 
Brasserie Cambier also has a colourful 'Library of Sensations' wall of painted wooden modules by Floriane Dupont, the Lille based artist who has designed artwork for Brasserie Cambier labels since 2021 and provides a selection of these as free downloads from a link on the fl0uk website.
A view through the window into the brewery shows there is a high standard of shiny equipment.
Tim shared his shelf from the bar with a display of bottles and cans available from the brewery shop. 
The Mongy range of staple beers from Cambier takes its name from Alfred Mongy 'an emblematic figure from the 2nd industrial revolution, who gave his name to the Lille metropolitan area tramway which passes through the town of Croix'. The Cambier range is made up exclusively of limited edition beers.
The brewery website also explains that its logo is 'inspired by the brewer's star: it is a symbolic representation of brewing alchemy involving the four elements (water, fire, earth, air)'.
The blackboard behind the bar includes sections for A Emporter (take away) beers and Merch. 
Always keen to find a Saison, Tim ordered a 33cl bottle of Mongy Saison Bio and a 33cl can of Saison Pebranle (a collab beer with Daddy Brew based in Waziers, 40 km south of Croix) to enjoy later.
Leaving after about an hour and a half, the sky to the north looked ominous but it remained dry for the walk back to Croix-Centro metro via Gare de la Rue.

Visit Heavy Brique and Brasserie Cambier


From Wednesday to Saturday it's possible to combine visits to Heavy Brique and Brasserie Cambier.
Marked with orange squares on the map above, both are an easy walk from Croix-Centro metro (M2 red line). To avoid doubling back, since the opening of La Branche de Croix, it must be possible to combine the path along the newly landscaped stretch of the canal bank from Rue de Professeur Perrin at the east end to the bridge at Avenue Georges Hannart further west.

The eastern part of Croix


72 Bd. du General de Gaulle, Roubaix. Photo: Pymouss 
https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Roubaix_-_Boulevard_du_G%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral_de_Gaulle_72.jpg
The R tram (Green line) runs beside the handsome houses and mansions of Bd du General de Gaulle on the west and the green spaces of Parc Barbieux on the east, dividing urban, commercial and industrial Croix on the the west from the leafier, affluent, residential areas of Croix on the east.
Before heading to Brasserie Cambier, Tim walked around the eastern part of Croix visiting Parc Mallet-Stevens and later getting a glimpse of the majestic Villa Cavrois from the rear entrance (architect: Robert Mallet-Stevens). 
With its broad, tree-lined streets and detached houses set behind hedges and security gates, this area with streets and avenues named after Winston Churchill, President J F Kennedy and Robert Schuman, must be where the Lille elite enjoy their leisure time.


05 October 2024

Tournai and Kortrijk

With a base in Lille, it is easy to cross the border into Belgium and visit Tournai and Kortrijk.

On Thursday 12 September 2024, Tim Thomas crossed the border by train and visited both cities on anti-clockwise triangular route. See appendix for details of the trains travelled on.


Tournai


In Wallonia, Tournai (Doornik in Dutch) is situated on the river Scheldt, 50 km northwest of Mons and 25 km east of Lille.
Catching a delayed train from Lille Flandres gave an earlier arrival than planned at Tournai. The impressive railway station lies about one kilometer north of the landmark Belfry. The pedestrian route to the Belfry leads across the river Scheldt and its quaysides and around the Cathedral of Our Lady with its five towers.

Before returning to the Grand Place (above with Cathedral to the left and Belfry to the right), there was time for a visit to the Musee des Beaux-Arts, designed by Victor Horta, before the lunchtime closing. The collection includes art by Manet, Oleffe and Seurat.

After this cultural treat it was time for a liquid treat at Au Vieux Tournay, Grand Place 48.

An external blackboard lists the beers available inside - three on draught, including Stella Artois, and over 70 bottles.

A sentence in blue mentions that payment by cash is required and that cards are not accepted. There's also a bound menu inside which includes the following items:

Les Blondes - Tournay Triple - De Cazeau - 5.1 euros

Les Saison - Tremist Saison - Kazematten - 3.8 euros

Les Gueuzes - Oude Gueuze - De Troch - 6.5 euros (37.5 cl)

Rhub-Elle - Lambiek Fabriek - 20 euros (75 cl)

Barrel aged - Gouden Carolus Whiskey Infused - Het Anker - 6 euros

Les Trappistes - Orval - 5 euros, 6 euros (+6 months), 7 euros (+1 year)

Tynt Meadow - Mount Saint Bernard Abbey - 7 euros

Snacks - Portion fromage Orval - 5.7 euros

Saucisson sec - 6.6 euros

When Tim arrived there was a group at an outside table and two individuals inside on the right side, viewed from the bar. Photos taken after their departure are arranged above with the right side at the top. On the left side of the bar, Tim's glass of Boscoli fruit beer from Brouwerij Het Anker (4.7 euros) is shown.

Next to a colourful disc, a book by Sophie Vanrafelghem – Les 200 Meilleur Cafes de Wallonie et Bruxelles was balanced against the wall. A look inside revealed that Au Vieux Tournay was included. The book reveals that Audry and Elisa are the hosts here. It's obviously a good place for beer lovers to meet and it was a pleasure to enjoy the surroundings at a quiet time, if only briefly on this first occasion.

The ‘Visit Tournai’ office at Place Paul-Emile Janson 1, has some useful brochures including ‘Time 4 Beer’ (available online). Local breweries highlighted are: Cazeau, Brunehaut, Dubuisson, Dupont, Caulier, Carrieres, De Ranke and Du Grand Mir. 
A compact folding leaflet is available for anyone interested in architecture - Art Nouveau in Tournai / Doornik.

Railway station side of Art Nouveau in Tournai / Doornik brochure
With some time to spare before the train to Kortrijk, the Art Nouveau brochure was useful for finding interesting architecture near Tournai station.
Place Victor Carbonelle, 5
The other side of the brochure features the southwest part of the city including the Musee des Beaux-Arts, Boulevard Leopold and Boulevard du Roi Albert.

It was nice to ride on the top deck of a quiet train to its final destination - Kortrijk, via Herseaux and Mouscron.

Kortrijk


In West Flanders, Kortrijk (Courtrai in French) is situated on the river Leie, 42 km southwest of Ghent and 25 km northeast of Lille.

Arriving at Kortrijk by train, it's obvious that many bicycles are parked in front of the station.
Kortrijk also has a notable Belfry with a WWI memorial beside it.

There was time to wander through the historic Begijnhof / Beguinage before crossing a branch of the river Leie by the bridge at the Broel Towers to reach Buda island.

Most bars in Kortrijk don't open until late afternoon on a Thursday but at least there was an opportunity to get a photo of Brasserie ‘t Mouterijtje.

A nearby bar on Buda island, Kunstkroeg De Doedelzak, was also closed but snapped for the blog.
It would be Cafe deDingen, almost opposite, that could provide a beer on a Thursday afternoon. Inside there was a nice ‘alternative’ feel about the place and music playing included tracks by Wu-Tang Clan and 50 Cent.
At the back of the long cafe, there are glass doors giving views into Brouwerij Ruimtegist.
Sadly, no Ruimtegist beers were available at the cafe counter but a local Verzet by Brouwerij 't Verzet (2.8 euros) was refreshing.
The photos above show the length of the cafe premises, viewed from the back at slightly different angles.
At 4.30pm it was time to recross the river Leie. From this bridge, the whitewashed 't Fonteintje can be seen on a corner, on the right bank, half way to the Broel towers.
A menu blackboard outside 't Fonteintje shows the kitchen opening time as 6.30pm.
Inside, the front bar was already busy a few minutes after opening so a table in the empty back room with a view of the bar and the traditional Bieren Omer Vanderghinste (O V) stained glass window was a good compromise.
From the bar counter, a generous 25 cl serving of draught Ypra (O V) cost 4.50 euros.
The side door to the blue walled back room was wedged open so it wasn't warm inside but it was further from the noise of an excavator working on the road in front.
Several hours would pass and three further O V beers would be enjoyed. During this time, the excavations stop, the side door was closed, the 'Reserved' sign was moved to a different table and the candles were lit as diners arrived. A complimentary bowl of crisps was served with the 25cl bottle of Rouge Max (4.5 euros) but a further bowl to go with the 25cl bottle of Bellegems Wit (3 euros) was declined. The lasagne bolognaise was accompanied by a basket of bread and butter and a draught Tripel LeFort (4 euros). Lasagne and spaghetti seem to be menu staples in Flanders and Brussels bars. This lasagne bolognaise was preferable to one at Antwerp's Paters Vaetje but could not match the classic at Poechenellekelder in Brussels.
After a visit to the superior toilet facilities and paying the bill at the bar counter, once outside the dusk light made additional photos worthwhile at 8.25pm (Belgian time).
It only takes 10 minutes for a brisk walk from here to Gainsbar near Kortrijk station. 
Stadhuis (top left), Stadsschouwburg (bottom left), Belfry (centre), Sint-Maartenskerk from Grote Markt (top right)
A few stops were needed to photograph interesting architecture and street art on the route via Grote Markt (Grand Place), also passing near the Stadsschouwburg (theatre).
At Vlasmarkt 1, Gainsbar was quite a contrast to the bistro style of 't Fonteintje. Gainsbar was dimly lit with loud music playing and a younger clientele.
The track playing (e.g. by Mark Lanegan)  could be identified from a square screen surrounded by album covers near the entrance. It's necessary to literally step up to the elevated counter to order a beer. A unique feature is the 'wall of speakers' that forms the bar front. There's a mix of seating with high stools at the bar and near the entrance and low seating on the far side.
With less than half an hour to linger here before heading to the station, a 25 cl glass of Bockor Pils (2.80 euros) brewed locally by O V was the simple choice from an extensive menu and tap list.
The tap list above the bar included beers from Scotland by Holy Goat and Brewdog. The printed menu is available from a holder directly beneath the tap list and gives details of the distance from the bar of the brewery for each beer. A future visit to Kortrijk should allow longer time in this bar which, like 't Fonteintje, also has an extensive pavement area for external tables.
There was time to buy a ticket from a machine and reach platform 4A for the last train to Lille Flanders at 21.14. Confusingly, the Poperinge train directly in front of the Lille train would depart from platform 4B at 21.10. It was a relief to be on the correct train for the journey back to France!

Appendix: Train details:

front and back of non personalised pass pass plastic card
Note that an ilevia Pass Pass plastic card ('non personalised') can be purchased from ticket machines in Lille e.g. Lille Europe, Lille Flanders stations. 
When the pass includes e.g. 24 hours travel this includes bus, tram, metro and local trains.
Ilevia tram and metro plan
Extent of train routes covered by ilevia Pass Pass plastic card for Lille
Ticket passes can be purchased for an evening, or 1-7 days. For example a 96 hour / 4 day pass costs 15.10 euros + 2 euros for the card which can be reused subsequently. The card should be placed on a validator at the start of each leg of a journey. Validators are located on entrance barriers at metro stations, at the platforms for trams, at rail station entrances to platform areas or inside buses near the driver.
It's possible to save money on international journeys by using the Pass Pass card for the French part of the journey and buying an international ticket from the French border e.g. Baisieux for Lille to Tournai. The SNCB International app can be used to buy tickets between France and Belgium. These can used as e-tickets without printing. For international journeys there is a discount for age 65+ (shown within brackets)
Lille Flanders > Tournai    2nd class from 5.10 (4.60) euros   1st class from 6.10 (5.40) euros
Baisieux > Tournai                                     4.30 (3.80) euros                          5.30 (4.60) euros
                                                                   
Lille Flanders > Kortrijk    2nd class from 5.90 (5.20) euros   1st class from  7.10 (6.10) euros
Roubaix / Tourcoing > Kortrijk                  5.10 (4.40) euros                           6.30 (5.30) euros
For shorter single journeys within Belgium there is no 'Senior' discount and the 2nd class fare from Tournai to Kortrijk is 6.50 euros. Tickets can be purchased from a machine at the station or as an e-ticket using the SNCB (domestic) app.
For the journey Roubaix > Lille Flanders (Metro), Lille Flanders > Tournai; Tournai > Kortrijk, Kortrijk > Roubaix the total cost of fares in conjunction with a Pass Pass card is 15.90 (14.70) euros.
Lille Flandres station
Lille Flandres  dep   9.08  Tournai  arr  9.36  (this train was delayed by 16 minutes on 12/9/24)
                               10.08                     10.36  ( next train)
Note that at Tournai the international train changes into a domestic service from Tournai to Namur via Mons. It's possible to buy an international ticket from Lille Flandres to Namur on these services for 25.40 (12.00) euros.
An excerpt from the Tournai departures poster shows that on weekdays there are usually seven trains an hour with services to Saint-Nicholas (Flanders via Brussels), Quevy (via Mons), Mouscron (Wallonia), Brussels airport (via Brussels) and Kortrijk / Courtrai (via Mouscron) in addition to those to Lille and Namur.
Tournai station
Tournai  dep 13.53  Kortrijk / Courtrai  arr 14.22
Kortrijk / Courtrai station
Kortrijk / Courtrai  dep 21.14  Roubaix  arr 21.40 arr Lille Flandres  21.51 (last train)
                                    20.14                       20.40 arr Lille Flandres  20.51 (previous train)
Roubaix station