Useful information
FAQ
DIRECTIONS - OPENING HOURS - PRICES - PARKING
At Lewarde, 8km east of Douai, on the road between Douai and Valenciennes, in the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France.
Please see the Google Map in the « Directions and parking »
You will need to walk the last 800m from the centre of Lewarde to the museum. Please note: the tram does not run on Sunday mornings.
Please see our tariff grid in the « Opening hours and prices ».
Group rates apply to groups of 20 people or more.
The museum is open every day, except 1-31 January, 1 May and 25 December.
From 1 April to 31 October: 9am to 7pm every day. From 1 November to 31 March: 1pm to 6pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sundays, public holidays and during local school holidays.
Please note: the ticket office closes at 5pm; so you must purchase your ticket by 5pm.
For individual visitors, there are no set start times for guided tours; they are organised a maximum of every 45 minutes depending on how busy the centre is.
When you arrive, your reception staff member will give you your group number and the start time for your guided tour.
You can therefore start either with the guided tour or with the non-guided visit to the exhibitions.
For groups of 20 or more, your guided tour time is given on your reservation form. Please plan to be on site 10 to 15 minutes beforehand.
If you are visiting with a group of 20 or more people, advance booking is required. Please call +33 (0)3 27 95 82 96.
If you are visiting alone or with family or friends: simply come to the ticket office during the times that it is open, i.e. 1 April to 31 October: 9 am to 5.00pm every day and 1 November to 31 March: 1pm to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sundays, public holidays and during local school holidays (the museum is closed to the public from 1 to 31 January, 1 May and 25 December).
Vous venez seul, en famille ou entre amis : présentez-vous simplement à la billetterie pendant les horaires d’ouverture de celle-ci.
Only guide dogs are accepted.
If the owners are visiting the centre, motorhomes may be parked in the car parks.
are permitted to stay overnight by prior arrangement with the reservations department (+33 (0)3 27 95 82 96) so long as they arrive and depart during museum opening times.
Car parks are not equipped with electrical hook-up points or water supplies, nor do they provide waste water disposal facilities.
- There are several free car parks provided on site for cars, motorhomes and coaches.
VISITS
You should allow an average of two hours for the non-guided visit of the permanent and temporary exhibitions, depending on how long you wish to spend looking.
The guided tour of the galleries lasts one hour.
The optional “Meet a miner” experience lasts half an hour. It is available in French only.
The temperature in the galleries varies according to the temperature outside; it can be cold in the winter. Please dress accordingly.
Also, some parts of the centre are outdoors.
The eight-hectare site is fully accessible to the public.
Most of the collections are indoors, in the permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions, the former buildings of the Delloye colliery and the galleries.
Outside are a geological timeline, an exhibition on the history of the Delloye colliery and railway equipment. Sometimes, temporary exhibitions are set up in the Delloye colliery yard.
Children of all ages are welcome at the museum: the entire site, including the galleries, is accessible to pushchairs.
There is plenty to interest young children: the enormous machines, the descent into the galleries, the stables and the reconstructions.
In the galleries, where you will spend around 45 minutes, the temperature varies according to the temperature outside. Please ensure that you and your children are dressed accordingly.
During the tour, the guide will start up some noisy machinery, but you will be warned in advance and can move a little further away if necessary.
The entire site is accessible to both wheelchair users and pushchairs. Le Briquet restaurant is Tourism and Disability certified for the 4 types of disability.
Please note: to compensate for an area which wheelchair users cannot visit, a presentation film is now available; it is shown on a television screen and the visitor then re-joins the rest of the group to continue the visit
The site is very large, covering eight hectares, and the tour of the galleries is 450 metres long. However, benches are available throughout the visit and it is perfectly possible for visitors to avoid stairs if they find them difficult.
Are you claustrophobic? Don’t worry, you can reach the galleries without using the lift.
Is it possible to visit the galleries without a guide.
The guided tour only covers the galleries. Visits to the permanent and temporary exhibitions are non-guided. The “Meet a miner” experience is also available (in French only). Audio guides in English, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian and Spanish are available for the permanent exhibitions and the guided tour of the galleries.
For individuals and groups, audio guides in English, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian and Spanish are available free of charge from the ticket office. You will be asked to leave an ID document as security. Audio guides cover the complete visit: the guided tour of the galleries, the permanent exhibitions and the Delloye colliery buildings, with the exception of the “Meet a miner” experience and the temporary exhibitions.
Take your pick from our “Nearby visits” section.
RESTAURANT
Our on-site restaurant, Le Briquet, is open from 12pm to 2pm on the days that the museum is open, i.e. every day except 1-31 January, 1 May and 25 December. Booking is advised for individual visitors (please call +33 (0) 27 95 82 82), and required for groups of 20 or more people (please call +33 (0) 27 95 82 96). The restaurant seats 270 people in two separate rooms. Menus and all the practical details you will require can be found in our “Le Briquet Restaurant” section.
A picnic area is also available for your use (seats approximately 100 people).
Please see the “Le Briquet Restaurant” section to find out more about regional specialities served at Le Briquet restaurant, as well as the prices.
It can be opened on reservation for groups of 30 people or more. Its scheduled opening times are from 12pm to 2pm on the days that the museum is open, i.e. every day except 1-31 January, 1 May and 25 December.
Useful informations
Opening times, prices, brochures... check out our practical information to help you plan your visit to the Mining History Centre.
