Travel Guide to Lille, France

Lille is the fourth largest city of France that perfectly combines culture and history of Flanders, France and Norway. It is located in Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and is known as the commercial center of Europe. Lille is located on the crossing of five large auto routes.

The architecture of the city is very colorful and diversified because it combines various influences of the French style and art that have been brought to this place by the king Louis XIV, unforgettable Flemish architecture and a part of Spanish Netherlands. In Lille there are numerous interesting streets, cafes, restaurants, and souvenir outlets that are simply must be visited.

Lille is famous for its museums and historical quarters, the central square named Grand Place and the old building of exchange that once has been a large trading center and the best place to buy quality clothes. Grandiose heritage of Lille is kept in the halls of its museums. The most popular museums of Lille are Museum of Natural History and Geology of Lille famous for its aquariums and an insectarium; Museum of General De Gaulle; Museum of Fine Arts, which rich collections feature works of such great artists as Botticelli, Rubens, Delacroix, Titian, Goya, Veronese – this is the second largest picture gallery of France after Louvre. Parisian Gates is one of the largest architectural sights of Lille. The gates were built to celebrate the joining of the city to the territory of France in XVII century. Today’s Lille combines the elegance of old buildings and modern architecture style.