Spring 2022

Palais de Cathédrale
Around the great Cathedral are beautiful
mansion houses including the Palais de la
Cathédrale at 12 Rue Henri Dupuis. Owner
Jean-Luc Montois has spent the last few
years restoring it to look as it did two hundred
years ago when it was lived in by a local
merchant. Although Jean-Luc lives there, he
has opened it to the public and to enter is
like stepping back in time, an extraordinary,
exquisite home that is filled with wonderful
treasures that he has collected for many
decades. It’s so extraordinary in fact, that
we’ll bring you a whole article about it in the
next issue of the magazine. Book a tour via
Saint-Omer tourist office
A sumptious Theatre
The locals affectionally call the exquisite
domed building which dominates the Place
du Marechal Foch - Le Moulin à café, the
coffee grinder. Completed in 1840 on the
site of the former 14th century Alderman’s
Hall, it became the Town Hall complete
with an opulent Italian-style theatre which
gave the local bigwigs bragging rights. The
theatre closed in 1973 and for 45 years was
hidden from sight. In 2018, after restoration,
it reopened to the public, complete with the
original stage machinery. In its day it attracted
some of the most well-known performers of
the time including Edith Piaf and Luis Mariano.
Under an ornate ceiling, the circular operastyle
theatre has three balconies and private
boxes. Book tickets via labacarolle.org
Ancient Library
From the outside, the municipal library in
Saint-Omer does little to tempt, a modern
building of the sort found in every town in
every country. But – go inside, head to the first
floor and discover the wood-panelled former
Jesuit Chapel library filled with thousands
of ancient books some of which date to the
Palais de la Cathedrale entrance
Shakespeare First folio © Y CADART
7th century. Their collection includes a first
volume Gutenberg Bible, less than 50 of the
original 180 copies thought to be printed have
survived. Not long ago, an eagle-eyed librarian
dusting the shelves spotted a Shakespeare first
Folio. Those two books alone are worth some
$50million.
The Good Life France | 29