Armentières is a textile town on the river Lys, right on the Belgian border, a quarter of an hour west of Lille. Its name is familiar to many English speakers from the bawdy marching song of the First World War, Mademoiselle from Armentières, which British soldiers sang on their way to the front lines nearby. The town paid a terrible price for being so close to that front: it was shelled, occupied and largely destroyed by 1918. The town hall and its belfry were rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s in a confident Flemish style, and the tower now belongs to the UNESCO group of belfries of Belgium and France.
Armentières has its own quirky tradition, the Fête des Nieulles, when small biscuits are thrown down from the town hall to the crowd below, a custom dating back centuries and linked to a local legend about the end of a feast. The town also parades giants, the huge wicker figures that are a beloved part of street festivals across northern France and Belgium.
Around the town, the landscape is mostly flat, with farms, canals and brick villages. The interest lies to the north-west, where the Monts de Flandre rise from the plain: Mont Noir, Mont des Cats and, across the border, the Kemmelberg. They are only small hills, but in this flat country they feel like mountains, and the lanes that climb them have steep sections, tight bends and sweeping views. The Trappist abbey on Mont des Cats makes a well-known cheese, and the nearby villages are full of estaminets, traditional taverns serving Flemish food and local beer.
The area is also full of reminders of war. Military cemeteries, memorials and museums dot the countryside, and a ride through the old front line between Armentières and Ypres is both beautiful and humbling. Weather is changeable, with rain, wind and fog common throughout the year, and cobbled stretches in villages need care, especially when wet.
Armentières has fuel, shops and plenty of brasseries. For lunch, try a carbonnade flamande, beef stewed in beer, or a potjevleesch, a cold terrine of mixed meats served with chips, and finish with a strong coffee before heading out to the hills.