La Piscine Museum in Roubaix

Discover why a unique gallery in a converted 1930s swimming pool, just an hour and a half’s drive from the LeShuttle terminal at Calais, is one of the best-loved museums in France. 

Why La Piscine Museum should be on your itinerary

La Piscine Museum, or to give it its full name, La Piscine – André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry, is a visual arts museum housed in a former art deco swimming pool in the city of Roubaix, near Lille. The building has played an important role in the life of Roubaix, ‘city of a thousand chimneys’, for nearly a century, and La Piscine is a source of pride for local people. Roubaix has experienced difficult times after its main textile factories closed down in the 1970s. Along with Louvre-Lens,  the museum symbolises the regeneration and renewal of a region once renowned for its heavy industry, especially coal mining and manufacturing. 

The extraordinary main exhibition hall at La Piscine. Morio60, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A brief history of La Piscine Museum

The swimming pool (‘La Piscine’) was built between 1927 and 1932 and served as a public baths for the people of Roubaix for over 50 years. After extensive renovation and refurbishment it was reopened as a museum in 2001 and originally housed the city’s collection of fine art and fabrics that had been in existence since 1835. Over time the Roubaix collection had acquired some notable works, and La Piscine Museum was an instant hit, attracting 250,000 visitors per year. It is often regarded as the best French museum outside of Paris. The museum was extended in 2018 and continues to be one of northern France’s major cultural attractions.  The Observer newspaper called it ‘France’s art deco jewel’.

What to see and do at La Piscine Museum

Why do people love this museum so much? Perhaps because architecturally it is already a stunning building – and its art deco features certainly combine beautifully with the artworks. 

Admire the stunning architecture

The main swimming pool hall is simply breathtaking. Water is still a key element of the space, and indeed the poolside rows of sculptures and statues are reflected in the water and somehow seem poised to make a splash. Elsewhere the enamel brick shower cubicles and former changing rooms make for unique, intimate exhibition spaces. The art deco sunburst stained glass window bathes everything in glorious natural light. 

Explore the permanent collections

The attractive cloistered botanic gardens at La Piscine 

Sculpture, painting, fashion, textiles, ceramics, glass, furniture and jewellery from the 19th and 20th centuries make up the bulk of La Piscine’s permanent collections. Works by Picasso, Rodin, Giacometti, Mondrian and Chagall are some of the highlights. Fans of fabric will be delighted by the extensive collection of textiles from ancient Egypt to the present day, while the botanical garden is designed like a monastic cloister, and features plants used in the city’s once thriving textile industry.

Discover the inspiring temporary exhibits

Over the years La Piscine has seen more than its fair share of masterpieces and famous works being exhibited, thanks to partnerships with leading museums and galleries in France and worldwide. Rodin’s statue of Adam has been the highlight of a recent exhibition, and the temporary exhibitions encompass a range of eclectic themes, artists and media. Dresses from the 1920s are just as likely to be seen amid the bath tiles as prints by William Morris and archive photographs of Roubaix.

Things to see and do around Roubaix

Most people come to Roubaix from further afield for La Piscine – but the museum is not the only thing Roubaix is known for.  

The Paris-Roubaix race is one of the highlights of the European cycling circuit. Felouch Kotek, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

La Manufacture 

While the textile factories have closed down, Roubaix’s industrial heritage lives on in La Manufacture, a museum that tells the story of the textile trade in the city. Housed in a former factory, you’ll learn about the history of weaving from the Middle Ages to the present day, the conditions of the workers, see textile machinery in action in the machine hall and hear the voices of people who worked in the trade in Roubaix in more recent times. 

Paris-Roubaix cycle race 

The Paris-Roubaix road race is one of the French 1-day cycling classics, held every April and first staged in 1896. It is renowned for its challenging terrain, and its cobbled sections, and is known as ‘the Hell of the North’ for what riders go through during the 160 mile race. It finishes in the Roubaix Velodrome and large crowds gather along the route, particularly the cobbled stretches where the racing is at its most exciting. Parts of the route have also been used in stages of the Tour de France.

Plan your visit to La Piscine

 Plan your visit to La Piscine well and you might get free entry!

Opening times and tickets

La Piscine is closed on Mondays but open every other day of the week. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays the museum is open from 11am to 6pm, on Fridays from 11am to 8pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 6pm. Admission is free on the first Sunday of the month, and after 6pm on Fridays, but there is an admission charge to La Piscine Roubaix at all other times. Entry tickets can be purchased on the day, but not online in advance. 

Driving to Roubaix from Calais

Roubaix is near the border with Belgium, and driving to Roubaix from the LeShuttle terminal at Calais takes around 1 ½ hours. Take the A16 motorway towards Dunkirk and then the N225 and A25 for Lille.  

Day trips to and from Roubaix

There are lots of day trips you can do from Roubaix. Accommodation is cheaper here than in some other parts of northern France, so you can use it as a base to explore the local area. Here are some easy day trips you could do from Roubaix: 

•    Lille – only 25 minutes drive 

•    Poperinge – 55 minutes drive 

•    Arras – 57 minutes drive 

Can you still swim at La Piscine in Roubaix?

No, you can’t swim any longer there, as the building closed as a swimming pool in 1985. However, there are two other public swimming pools in Roubaix, the Danielle Lesaffre Pool and Piscine Municipale de Croix. 

Is La Piscine suitable for children?

Yes, children will find the building and many exhibits interesting and French school visits are frequent. Under-18s also get free entry. 

Book your cultural escape to Roubaix

This part of northern France has become something of an arts and culture capital, with the Louvre-Lens museum also a major attraction. Get to Calais in just 35 minutes from Folkestone, and dip your toe into art at La Piscine!