A day in Roubaix, our must-sees

Villa Cavrois was built between 1929 and 1932. It was commissioned by Paul Cavrois from the architect Robert Mallet-Stevens. This reinforced concrete artwork is covered with yellow facing bricks and totals 1840m2 of living space. Enough to house Paul Cavrois' 7 children and service staff. Villa Cavrois represents a prime example of homogenous design between architecture, décor, furnishings and garden.

By transport from Lille city center: Take the Tram line to Roubaix Eurosport from Lille-Flandre and get off at Villa Cavrois. You have 1 km (± 15 minutes) to walk to the Villa Cavrois entrance.

By transport from La Piscine: Take the CIT5 bus at the Musée stop to Place du Travail (± 15 minutes). You have 1.8 km (± 25 minutes) to walk to the Villa Cavrois entrance.

After its construction, the Villa Cavrois suffered damage from the German occupation during World War II. Renovated and expanded by the architect Pierre Barbe in 1947, and inhabited by the Cavrois family until 1986, it was finally sold in 1987 to a real estate company that wished to subdivide the park. Classified among the Historic Monuments in 1990, it was unfortunately not maintained and was the prey of numerous looters. It was purchased by the state in 2001 and entrusted to the National Monuments Center 7 years later. After 12 years of restoration work, it opened its doors to the public in 2015.

From the outside, the Villa Cavrois is a harmony of curves and geometric shapes covered in yellow bricks. At the top, a large terrace with its pergola is visible. At the foot of the house, the property's swimming pool. The gardens are mainly composed of green grass with a water feature in the center. Various geometrically designed paths wind around it.

Inside the Villa Cavrois, light plays an important role, interacting with the materials and furniture throughout the day. We recommend visiting on a sunny day to fully appreciate these interplay of shadows and light.

The furniture was also designed by Mallet-Stevens according to the utility of the rooms. It was sold at auction upon the death of Madame Cavrois. Only part of the original furniture could be found and presented in the various rooms of the Villa Cavrois.

The Mallet-Stevens Gardens are a small green haven near the Cavrois Villa. It is therefore no coincidence that they bear the name of the architect Mallet-Stevens who designed the famous Villa. In addition to a playground, a multi-purpose room and a theater, there are also 4 plots with very different themes: the wetlands area, the vegetable garden, the agricultural garden and the bee garden. The design of the Mallet-Stevens Gardens gives an important place to plant heritage, ecology, biodiversity and architecture. An unusual place to stroll outdoors before or after visiting the Villa.

The Swimming Pool or André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry represents composite collections of applied and fine arts assembled from the 19th century, including fabrics, decorative arts pieces, sculptures, paintings, and drawings. No real favourite on our part regarding the permanent exhibition.

 The architecture of the former swimming pool in Art Deco style, created by architect Albert Baert in 1932, is worth a visit in itself. Period recordings are broadcast at regular intervals, recreating the life that existed before the pool was converted into a museum.

Transportation from Lille city center: Take metro line 2 towards Tourcoing C.H. Dron from Lille-Flandre and get off at Gare Jean Lebas. A 450m (± 5 minutes) walk remains to reach the entrance of La Piscine.

Transportation from Villa Cavrois: Walk 1.8km (± 25 minutes) to the Place du Travail stop and take the CIT5 bus to Musée (± 15 minutes).

We spent only an afternoon and the end of the day in Roubaix. We were unable to visit all the other iconic places in the city. For our next visit, we will note the Factory, the Grand Bassin (nursery of young creators next to La Piscine), the Barbieux Park, the street art route, …

You can find all our good addresses and places to see on our Mapstr account (@lesexplorateursdumonde). Don't hesitate to follow us there! 😉