calling mums who know the north of France

[frazzlenz]

Hi there
We have just moved to Brussels from NZ a month ago. My eldest DS is having a birthday and wants to 'go to France' for the day on his birthday :) I'm thinking somewhere pretty that we can get to from Brussels in an hour or 2.
Can anyone tell me the names of some quaint French villages that we could make a day trips to. Thanks :)

My sister lives in Mons, about 20 mins from Brussels and she will probably be able to help, i'll phone her tomorrow and get her to go on MN and get in touch ( her user name is fhutts.)

Arras - small town with pretty square, or Lille - regional principal city, or both. If you go to Lille, it's a great place to shop too, but not quaint or small.

Not sure about quaint villages, perhaps Gravelines with its distinctive walls, at the mouth of the river Aa, perhaps an even smaller place such as Wissant, right by the sea with fantastic beach, but it's about 2 1/2 hour drive.

www.villagesdefrance.free.fr/dept/page62_paysdupasdecalais.htm

Here's a handy link to "quaint" in the département of Pas de Calais (62).

Belgium also borders the départements of Nord (59) and Ardennes (08) which are within 2 hours drive, haven't found a good link in French to "quaint" in these areas yet.

Boulogne is quite nice - walled old town at the top of the hill, and the Nausicaa Sea Life place.

Thanks everyone. I'll check them all out :)

I second Lille, it is not a village, it is close to bruxelles (1h). Great shopping in the old town (quaint), great food, as it is a big town, things to do for children. You can park outside and use the subway to go around.
Otherwise you should be a short distance from the coast too, not sure where to find quaint though (most of it has been bombed heavily during the war), but they have great sandy beaches
www.uk.pas-de-calais.com/
www.cdt-nord.fr/uk/index.aspx
www.eupedia.com/france/nord.shtml

And for planning the trip www.viamichelin.com/

have fun

www.villagesdefrance.free.fr/dept/page59_paysdeflandre.htm
Villages in Nord (59)

www.villagesdefrance.free.fr/dept/page08_paysdesardennes.htm
Villages in Ardennes (08)

Boulogne is not bad at all, just it´s 2 1/2 hours on a good day driving. The aquariaum Nausicaa is on the sea front. The picturesque old town is uphill from Nausicaa, about 1km walk.

www.nausicaa.fr/

Gravelines is just under 2 hours away. The town is fortified, surrounded completely by water, can do boat trip Tuesday to Sunday around the town only until the end of August. A short drive away is the beach where there is a playground / trampolines again Tuesday to Sunday until the end of August, accoring to the Tourism website.

www.tourisme-gravelines.fr/en/

Haven't looked on the links but when we have visitors we take them to:

Bergues. (It's where 'Bienvenue chez les Chtis' is set.)
Cassel
St Omer
Gravelines (The Turbot is a great fish restaurant, speciality is scallops)
Ardres (small town with cobbled square and good restaurants and a lake where you can hire pedaloes)