Winner of the national prize for trees in 2002, Roubaix a town with a thousand chimneys, surprised us all with the quality of its surroundings and the care that it pays to its environment. In the heart of the town, among this tangle of roofs, in this landscape of bricks, who would have imagined that one could find an undulating park of more than 33 hectares listed by the Ministry for Culture and comprising more than 135 species of trees including some very rare specimens.

The National Committee for Flowers awarded a fourth flower to Roubaix in 2003, reward for an exceptional show of blooms throughout the seasons. In keeping with the traditional rules of the competition, the jury returned to Roubaix in 2004 to confirm this label.

This educational garden unique to the Lille area was inaugurated in 2002.

Managed by an association for professional re-integration, Angle 349, it is made up of an educational workshop dedicated to the environment, specially designed for schoolchildren, and spread over 9000 m².

It is made up of various different areas:
- a reconstruction of some of the region's natural environments, such as marshlands, prairies and groves
-  a play area with a maze and willow-branch tents, designed to change children's perception of nature
- many varieties of vegetables, fruit and medicinal herbs grown in the workshops
- an educational greenhouse

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Address : 220-222 grand rue
Télephone : 03 20 ...

 In Roubaix, Calais wharf, at the heart of the industrial part of the town, and in Tourcoing, Halot Bridge and Blanc Seau wharf, dive into nature with a ride on the Décidée.
Take the opportunity to sail down Roubaix canal, a waterway that was once used for transporting raw materials for industry.  Today it has become a place for relaxation.
The Décidée will take you for a 1 hour ride, exploring Roubaix canal.  While admiring the unexpected landscape of this waterway that goes through the heart of the town, the captain will speak about the history, heritage, and flora and fauna.
The Decidée is a lightweight catamaran that can take up to 18 people as well as 2 crew members (the captain and their assistant), both of whom are...

In order to meet the needs of the local textile industry, a waterway link between the mining region and the North Sea was first envisaged in the early 19th century.

To make this possible, the project included the creation of an underground canal passage at the "Montagne de Croix" (Croix Mountain).  This project had to be abandoned in 1831 for technical reasons, leaving the Barbieux passage completely redundant.  In 1863, inspired by the project put forward by the landscape designer Barillet-Deschamps, the town of Roubaix decided to make use of the site with the creation of an undulating park, criss-crossed by streams, ponds and waterfalls.  This park (listed on January 26th 1994) is considered to be one of the finest urban parks in France.

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