Cat Cafes in Hauts De France

Tourcoing, Hauts De France

Le Chalaksa is a cat cafe and tea room with a Singaporean theme on the pedestrian stretch of Rue de Lille in central Tourcoing, opened in September 2026 as the only cat cafe in the Lille metropolitan area. Run by François and Clara Delourme, it fills a newly renovated 175-square-metre space with about 46 seats spread over sofa, banquette and bar areas, and visitors come in through an airlock for the cats' safety. The cats wander freely and have a separate room to retreat to. Apart from the couple's own resident cat, they come from two local rescue associations, including Le Félinarium, and are available for adoption. Clara bakes Singaporean pastries such as pineapple tarts, pandan cake and kuih keria, served with coffee, teas, lassis and smoothies. The venue also has an Asian grocery corner and a separate cat hotel, and lunch service with Singaporean dishes is being added.

• Adoptable cats

Valenciennes, Hauts De France

Chez Maminou is a cat cafe, tea room and small restaurant on Rue de Famars in central Valenciennes. It is run by Maminou, a former human resources manager turned baker and feline behaviourist, who cooks the savoury dishes and bakes the pastries herself using seasonal ingredients and local producers. Cats roam the bright, clean room among the tables. They come from the partner association Zarg'n co in Cambrai and are available for adoption, and staff can talk visitors through the process. The menu includes homemade tarts, tiramisu, chocolate fondant, Viennese hot chocolate, teas, coffees and some beers. The owner also offers consultations as a cat behaviourist, sells teas, coffees and personalised mugs, and runs baking workshops, including sessions for children.

• Adoptable cats

Dunkerque, Hauts De France

Barachat is a non-profit cat cafe near the city centre of Dunkerque, run by volunteers of the association Les Chamis. The cats are the association's rescues, and up to five at a time live in a bright room under a glass roof, where they can be adopted under an association contract. The cafe seats about ten visitors, who come for a drink, a homemade vegan pastry, cookies or a milkshake and to spend time with the cats. House rules ask guests not to wake sleeping cats, force them to play, feed them or use a flash, and children must stay with their parents. Volunteers also give advice to future adopters and cat owners, and the association holds weekly morning craft workshops and sells eco-friendly handmade cat items. Takings fund the association's rescue work. The cafe occasionally closes for a few days at short notice, announced on its social media.

• Adoptable cats

Maubeuge, Hauts De France

Le Cafélin is a cat cafe and tea room on Rue du 145ème RI in Maubeuge, in the Sambre-Avesnois area near the Belgian border. Cats live in the cafe with plenty of climbing shelves, walkways and toys overhead, and visitors share the calm, cosy room with them over a drink or a meal. The cats are available for adoption in partnership with an animal welfare association. The cafe changed hands in 2026, and the new owners reopened it with a refreshed decor and a homemade menu that includes pastries such as lemon tiramisu, paninis, pasta and hot dogs alongside hot and cold drinks. It also hosts children's birthday parties. Opening is from Wednesday to Sunday afternoons.

• Adoptable cats

Saint Venant, Hauts De France

Esta-minet is a restaurant and tea room with resident cats on the main square of Saint-Venant, a small town in the Pas-de-Calais between Béthune and Aire-sur-la-Lys. The name plays on the estaminet, the traditional café-restaurant of northern France, and minet, a word for cat. Behind a glass frontage, the cosy room has vintage decor and several cats that move around the tables at their own pace. At lunchtime the kitchen serves fresh homemade dishes made with local produce, and in the afternoon the venue becomes a tea room with cakes, macarons and hot drinks. It also runs occasional activities, such as children's workshops at Easter, and hosts small celebrations.