Capital of the Hauts-de-France region and City of Art and History, Lille offers a remarkable architectural and cultural heritage. The old town is a particularly lovely place to wander around with its many monuments, Flemish facades and pleasant pedestrian streets.
The Vieille Bourse building, looking onto the famous Grand'Place square, is a magnificent monument of Flemish Baroque style dating from the 17th century. This treasure of Vieux-Lille (Old Lille) consists of 24 houses surrounding a charming inner courtyard where secondhand booksellers, florists and chess players gather.
The very lively Grand'Place square, in the middle of which rises the Déesse column, is surrounded by beautiful buildings.
Other places of interest to explore are the Rihour Palace, a 15th-century Gothic building that today houses the tourist centre; Place du Théâtre square with the opera house and the Chamber of Commerce & Belfry; streets lined with period homes and mansions; the Hospice Comtesse museum; the Palace of Fine Art; and the Vauban citadel known as the "queen of citadels".
Unmissable, the Palais de Beaux Arts is the second museum in France after the Louvre for the richness of its painting, sculpture, drawing and ceramic collections. Also on the arts tour is the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art.
The Hospice Comtesse museum, located in a former hospital founded in the 13th century by the Countess Jeanne de Flandre, comprises a hospital ward, chapel, community building and dormitory. The museum also contains paintings, furniture and works of art.
The Natural History and Geology museum houses geology, zoology and ethnography collections.
Every first weekend of September, the famous Lille flea market takes place along more than 100 km of streets! An event not to be missed!
