Discover Carvin: Culture and Nature

Carvin can be explored from several cultural and scenic perspectives when planning your trip. Saint Martin Church and the Hôtel de Ville offer different architectural highlights; workers’ housing estates and information panels reveal aspects of the area’s heritage. Parc Malbezin and the Tour d’Horloge add nature and outdoor activities to the mix. You can organise your itinerary around architectural history, mining heritage or physical activity, and plan the focus of your stay.

Church, Town Hall and Heritage

The square tower of Saint Martin Church was built between the 17th and 18th centuries. It is the only building in the Arrondissement de Lens classified as a historic monument. The Association Présence de l’Orgue adds a distinctive touch with its work around the organ: it organises concerts, organ classes and organ tours. Dates may vary, so check the relevant event date if you plan to take part in any of these activities.

At the Hôtel de Ville, the salon d’honneur and the large stained-glass window are considered its main attractions. While the church’s history is marked by its tower and organ, the town hall’s two specific highlights are the salon d’honneur and the large window. These offer different starting points for focusing on architectural history or on the town hall’s distinctive features.

The housing estates also offer a way to explore the area’s heritage. The workers’ housing estate known as Cité ouvrière dite cité de la Gare dates from the fourth quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century. In Cité Saint-Paul, information panels explain the heritage of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin World Heritage Site. You can discover different ways of interpreting the past: a workers’ housing estate with a defined historical period and information about mining heritage.

Nature and the Former Use of the Landscape

Parc Malbezin is located on the site of a former chalk quarry, where chalk was extracted to make lime. The park has a chalk grassland area and protected bee orchids (Ophrys apifera). Its former use as a chalk quarry and its natural features give the site two distinct aspects: here, a chapter in the landscape’s history can be combined with a specific ecological theme.

The Tour d’Horloge also has a connection with nature: visitors can discover the rich local flora and fauna there. Unlike Parc Malbezin, the focus here is not on a particular area or plant species, but on the diversity of local wildlife and plant life. If you are interested in nature, these different highlights can help you decide how to include the two places in your itinerary.

Activities and Routes

At the Tour d’Horloge, you can go for a walk, fish and run. You can reach it via Chemin du Moulin, off Rue du Vieux Château. There is also a signposted walk, the short Tour d’Horloge–Square Rémy Callot route: it is 12 km long and passes through Carvin and its surroundings. This gives you different ways to plan your visit: activities at one destination or a walk with a specified length and route.

Fishing competitions are regularly held at Étangs Wacheux. This differs from fishing at the Tour d’Horloge: fishing is listed as one of the activities there, while Étangs Wacheux is a preferred venue for competitions. When planning your trip around a particular theme, you can choose between a visit with a range of leisure activities, a walk and a place associated with fishing competitions.

Discover more destinations: Aubin-Saint-Vaast, Auchy-Lès-Hesdin, Sempy, Cucq, Annay, Ficheux, Serques, Estrée-Cauchy

See the wider travel guide: Pas-De-Calais.