Roubaix Things to Do

La Piscine : The swimming Pool

No no, not just an ordinary swimming pool, in fact is a museum in a swimming pool.

In fact, La Piscine is the Museum for Art and Industry.

Situated in this exceptional environment of the former Art-Deco swimming Pool of Roubaix you can see admire here a great collection of modern art and applied art.

For me la Piscine was surely a highlight of my visit of Roubaix last June 2004.

Opening hours:
Tuesday till Thursday : 11.00 till 18.00
Friday : 11.00 till 20.00
Saturday and Sunday : 13.00 till 18.00

Closed on Monday, 1st of January, 1st of May, Thursday of Ascension, 14th of July (national festivity of France), 15th of August, 1st of November, 25th of December.

Entry fees:

Temporary expositions : 3 euro (reduced 2 euro)
Permanent collection : 3 euro (reduced 2 euro)
Combined ticket : 5 euro (reduced 3 euro)

Free entry at permanent collection, every first Sunday of the month.

Of course it sounds a bit strange to visit a museum of Art in a former swimming pool.

But this is (was) not just a swimming pool, och no it was a beauty of architecture. Completely build in the Art-deco style.

But due to the uprising chlorine smoke, the concrete of the ceiling was damaged, and it was not safe anymore to use this place as a public swimming pool.

So many years after its closing it is completely restored and used as a museum. If you ask me a magnificent initiative.

Once you have paid your entry fee in order to enter the museum of Art and Industry La Piscine in Roubaix, you will be surprised.

As it is kind of funny, because if you want to get in you must enter via the changing cubicles.

That is also something which is so great on the restoring of this former swimming pool; it still looks like a swimming pool.

If you enter via the changing cubicles, watch the cloth hooks; they are beautifully integrated into the tiles.

The people who restored this former Art-Deco swimming pool did a fine job, in order to transfer it into a modern museum.

Even a part of the swimming pool remained, on both sides they created a wooden walkway, and along this walkway there was a great collection of big and beautiful sculptures.

In the former Art-Deco swimming pool in Roubaix, now used as the museum of Art and Industry, you can see two beautiful big coloured windows.

It was also a great idea to remain these windows after the restoration.

These windows symbolise the sunset and sunrise. I think it gives a very special effect with the reflection in the water of the former swimming pool.

There is something more to discover in the former swimming pool in Roubaix then just sculptures and pieces of art.

Here they are doing things with the five senses : Feeling - Seeing - Smelling - Tasting.

For the Feeling - Sense they have placed wooden boxes with drawers in the museum. So you have to open a drawer and put your hand inside a black bag, and feel what is inside without looking of course.

Don't be afraid this is not a horror museum, so there are no weird or creepy things inside these bags.

No inside these bags you can feel different kinds of textile, from just the common till the extra ordinary.

This art project is named : The 5 senses around - tactile drawers - Creation of Christian Astuguevieille

There is something more to discover in the former swimming pool in Roubaix then just sculptures and pieces of art.

Here they are doing things with the five senses : Feeling - Seeing - Smelling - Tasting.

The Sense Hearing was kind of funny, as while we were visiting this museum we heard the sound of children playing in the swimming pool.

So every hour (I think) you can hear different sounds which are of course related to the swimming pool, like announcements, swimming lessons, and the rhythmic sound of swimmers and as I already mentioned the sound of playing children in the water.

For the sense - Seeing there is not needed much explanation, as it is clear that there is a lot see in this museum, on pieces of art and on architecture of this remarkable building.

For the Smelling - sense, you can get kind of smelling strips at the ticket office and then you can discover different smells while visiting the museum (this we have not done).

And the tasting - sense is in the museum restaurant where you can taste some delicious dessert, made by the master confectioner (he used to work in the very famous pastry shop Meert in Lille).

In the museum of Art and Industry in Roubaix, you can see a great collection of sculptures.

Most of these sculptures are placed along the former swimming pool, and via the wooden walkways you can easily admire these sculptures.

From left to right (at the picture):

Le Bucheron de la foret de la Londe (1899) de Paul Richer (Lumberjack of the La Londe woods)

Statue of Haendel (1874) made by Jean-Jules Salmson

Back of the statue L'athlete (1938) (the athlete) made by Felix Joffre.