17-18-19-20 april 2026
Location : North department
PRESENTATION
With pleasure I present to you the 12th SWEET TRIP. This is a gay classic car rally which will be organised from the 17 until the 20 april 2026 by Dominique De Taverny.
For 2026, the SWEET TRIP will take place in the Nord department around the city of Lille. This French department is located approximately 200 kilometers north of Paris. For this SWEET TRIP, you will enjoy a relaxing weekend with walks, pleasant roads, convivial meals, and visits to the heritage sites. In short, the motto for this weekend is simple and remains the same: come, discover, enjoy, and relax with your classic car! For your convenience, the road book and program will be translated into English and French. It is important to note that this rally is reserved for vintage and collector vehicles (over 25 years old) or exceptional vehicles (rare vehicles produced in limited numbers). I’m counting on many of you to attend, and I look forward to seeing you on 17 April 2026.
Important! Upon receipt of your registration form, you will receive a personal email confirming your participation.
ACCOMODATION
For the 3 nights, you will stay at the Holiday Inn Lille Ouest Englos **** hotel. This establishment is located in Englos, 5 km west of the center of Lille. All spacious rooms have televisions, Wi-Fi, and bathrooms with showers or bathtubs. This hotel has a restaurant where we will have our evening meals. Also, the bar reserved for hotel guests will remain open in the evening. Important: The hotel parking is private and enclosed.
HOLIDAY INN LILLE OUEST ENGLOS
Impasse de la Bertha
59320 Englos
Tél : + 33 (0)3 20 10 58 58
PROGRAMME
The meeting will begin on Friday 17 April 2026, in the late afternoon at the Holiday Inn Lille Ouest Englos hotel. Everyone will check into their own room, and dinner will be served. The hotel bar will be open for the evening.
On Saturday 18 April, head to the village of Comines in Belgium to visit the Ribbon Museum. The Ribbon Museum is an unusual museum featuring looms that are still in operation. A true living workshop, it is the only one to offer this experience in Belgium. In this museum, you can admire a collection of antique textile looms, masterpieces, the oldest of which date back to 1700. You will also discover display cases displaying shuttle collections, samples of multicolored ribbons, historical documents, as well as instruments and machines used for preparing and finishing ribbons.
Afterwards, you will head to France for a meal, followed by a big surprise. Prepare for an unusual activity that should delight all participants. But, shh! Come and see.
In the late afternoon, return to the Holiday Inn Lille Ouest Englos. Dinner will be served at the hotel restaurant. In the evening, the bar remains available for a chat over a drink.
On Sunday 19 April, head to the city of Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium to discover Cady Cars. Cady Cars is an absolutely unique place since it is in fact the place where Thierry Dehaeck’s collection of vintage cars is exhibited. Unlike other collectors, Thierry is passionate only about exceptional and very rare models. Regardless of their origin or brand, only their uniqueness or rarity counts. There are around fifty totally cult vehicles like this 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spider, a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB or a 1969 Maserati Ghibli Spyder. There is also a room dedicated to Citroën and in particular to SM, some of which are very rare. The owner didn’t just line up cars; he also wanted to create a truly atmospheric atmosphere, including a perfectly working vintage carousel and a superb 1950s French brasserie with a view of the cars. All the cars are perfectly restored and regularly run. In short, a unique place where elegance, passion, and expertise coexist. For those who want to know more, Thierry Dehaeck has published a beautiful book with a complete history of each car and more than 230 illustrations.
Then return to France, where lunch will be enjoyed at a restaurant near Mont des Cats.
After lunch, you will head to Arques to discover the Fontinettes boat lift. In Arques, at the Fontinettes location, the Neuffossé Canal has a drop of 13.13 meters. For many years, this drop was bridged by five locks. But at the end of the 19th century, barge traffic on the canal became denser and boat traffic jams became increasingly significant. While for a time it was considered to double these locks, a new idea quickly gained ground in the minds of the engineers of the time: a boat lift. The idea was not new; there was a model in England, in Anderton to be precise, and it was this structure that would serve as a reference. Work began in 1883 and it would take no less than 4 years to complete the project. The inauguration of the boat lift took place on July 8, 1888, before a crowd amazed to see the ferries containing barges weighing several tons moving with such ease. The physical principle is simple, however, it involves communicating vessels and Archimedes’ thrust; all it took was to think of it! It takes approximately 22 minutes for a barge to ascend or descend the elevator, and it can accommodate two barges at a time. After its final shutdown in 1967, it was restored and saved over the years.
In the late afternoon, return to the Holiday Inn Lille Ouest Englos. Dinner will be served in the hotel restaurant. In the evening, the bar remains available for a chat over a drink.
Monday 20 april, get up at the time you want! The breakfast room is open until 10:00. Then everyone is free to go back to his home. For those in a hurry, they can leave early in the morning. For the others, it will be possible to keep his room until noon or to extend the stay in the region and to discover individually other curiosities.
TARIFFS
The price of €445 per person in a double room (e.g. €890 for two) or €575 per person in a single room includes:
- 3 dinners at the Holiday Inn Lille Ouest Englos hotel
- 3 nights at the Holiday Inn Lille Ouest Englos **** hotel
- 3 buffet breakfasts
- 1 meal in restaurant on Saturday lunch
- 1 meal in restaurant on Sunday lunch
- Visit to the ribbon-making museum in Comines (Belgium)
- The big surprise on Saturday afternoon
- Visit to the Cady Cars collection in Ypres (Belgium)
- Visit the Fontinettes boat lift in Arques
- Documents necessary for the smooth running of the weekend (road-book and other …)
Please note : Those travelling alone, please reserve a single room, not a double, unless you have found a roommate yourself. The organisation cannot select or find participants for you to share a room.
Important:
Every meal during this event is ‘all-inclusive’ comprising wine or beer, water and coffee. However, neither individual consumptions in bars, hotels and restaurants are not included in the price.
Your registration is final only upon receipt of the total amount of the registration and payment must be made by 15th January 2026 for the Sweet Trip 2026.
In case of cancellation, a fee will be retained on your registration:
Up to 60 days before the Sweet Trip: Your registration can be canceled free of charge
Between 59 and 30 days before the Sweet Trip: 80% of the total registration is refunded
Between 29 and 15 days before the Sweet Trip: 50% of the total registration is refunded
Between 14 and 8 days before the Sweet Trip: 20% of the total registration is refunded
Last 7 days before the Sweet Trip: No refund of registration
Attention: this document has no contractual value and can be subjected to changes deemed necessary.