Shopping in Lille

In the Old Town, narrow winding cobblestoned streets hide tiny boutiques in old Flemish houses around the rue de la Monnaie (Lille’s oldest street).

For classic designer names, head straight for the rue de la Grande Chaussee, right in the center of town, where you will find names like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Lacoste and the likes.

Gourmet fare not to be missed can be found at Philippe Olivier, 3 rue du Cure St Etienne, one of France’s most famous cheese shops. And of course a stop at Meert, on rue Esquermoise, is compulsory: here you will find exquisite waffles and other
delicious pastries.

Several markets take place in Lille every week. The two most interesting ones are the one on place du Concert, an excellent, bustling food market in Lille’s Old Town on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and the daily book market in the Vieille Bourse courtyard.

Last, but not least, don’t miss Euralille, a huge modern shopping complex located between the two train stations (see Key Attractions). And bear in mind that Lille (in common with most other French cities) keeps old-fashioned opening hours: most shops are closed on Sundays.

Activities in Lille

The Lille National Orchestra and the lavishly refurbished Opera House, place du Theatre , the Theatre du Nord (Theater Roger Salengro) Grand’ Place and the Grand Bleu, 36 avenue Marx Dormoy , a drama center for young audiences, are the engines that drive the city’s cultural life. Alongside them are the baroque Atelier Lyrique (based in Tourcoing) , Ballet du Nord and Danse a Lille, which specializes in contemporary dance creations.

Lille has always been a city of music- and dance- lovers. Rock music, jazz and new music have their temple at the Aeronef , 168 Center Euralille and its distribution circuit, made up of about 30 cafes that organize concerts. The biggest concerts are held at the Zenith-Arena, 1 boulevard des Cites Unies and the Sebastopol Theater, place Sebastopol , which has a program on almost every day and is a must for operetta lovers in particular.

Two smaller theaters, Le Prato, 6 allee de la Filature and Le Biplan, 19 rue Colbert are also worth checking out for more alternative stuff. The main cinemas in Lille are the Majestic, rue de Bethune , the Metropole, rue des Ponts-de-Comines and the UGC Cine Cite Lille, 40 rue de Bethune.

Tourist Attractions of Lille

Sightseeing Overview

Lille is divided in two by the boulevard de la Liberte: to the north of the boulevard, which runs southeast by northwest, is charming Vieux Lille (the old town), nestled within the city’s former fortifications. It is a picturesque mixture of narrow streets and cobbled squares lined with chic boutiques, and cosy cafes and restaurants. To the south is the new town, not quite as picturesque as Vieux Lille, with its wide and regular streets.

The old city’s points of interest include the 1652 Flemish styled Vieille Bourse (the textile exchange), near the place du General de Gaulle (aka Grand’Place), the heart of the city;
the old hospital Hospice Comtesse on the rue de la Monnaie; the Opera House; the Cathedral, and for shopping, rue Basse, rue de la Grande Monnaie, and rue de la Clef.

Heading south, on the place de la Republique, the Musee des Beaux-Arts is another must see: one of the best museums in France, it houses a collection of 15th through 20th century paintings. Nearby, and worth a look too, is the Maison Coilliot, 24 rue de Fleurus, a beautiful example of art nouveau architecture.

To the west, the Citadel, now a military school, was reconstructed between 1667 and 1670 by the highly talented military architect Sebastien Le Prestre, Marquis de Vauban; and to the east, just by Lille Europe station, is the Euralille shopping complex.

Passes
Pass Libre Acces gives free access to over 30 sites in Lille and the region, as well as free transport in the city.

Key Attractions:

Palais des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum)

Widely acclaimed as France’s second best museum after Le Louvre, the Palais des Beaux Arts, housed in a Belle Epoque palace right in the city center, has been attracting great crowds after an extensive and lengthy renovation. The impressive collection, which includes paintings by many such as Donatello, Raphael, Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, El Greco, David and Toulouse-Lautrec, is now even better displayed, and makes for a truly delightful visit. (more…)

Famous people from Lille

Scientists and Industrialists

Charles Joseph Panckoucke, (1736-1788), founder of the Moniteur Universel, owner of Mercure de France, promoter of the Lumieres and editor of the Encyclopedie Methodique.
Antoine Scrive-Labbe (1789-1864), industrialist in the textile field and French spy.
Auguste Scalbert (1815, 1899), creator of the first Nordiste bank.
Alfred Mongy (1840-1914), modernizer of the city.
Albert Calmette (1863 - 1933) and Camille Guerin (1872-1961), discovery of the antituberculosis vaccine.
Jean Perrin (1870, 1942), Nobel Prize in physics and creator of the French CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research).

Artists
Alexandre Desrousseaux (1820-1892), songwriter.
Edouard Lalo (1823-1892), composer.
Antoine Renard (1825-1872), composer (Temps des cerises).
Carolus-Duran (1837-1917), painter.
Pierre Degeyter (1848-1932), worker and composer of the music of the Internationale.
Albert Samain (1858-1900), poet.
Emile Bernard (1868-1941), neoimpressionist painter and friend of Paul Gauguin
Line Dariel (1886-1956), comedian.
Julien Duvivier (1896-1967), director.
Renee Adoree (1898-1933), actress.
Robert Arnoux (1899-1964), actor.
Leopold Simons (1901-1979), poet, caricaturist, painter, sculptor.
Raoul de Godewaersvelde (1928-1977), singer.
Alain Decaux (1925~), television presenter, minister, writer, and member of the Academie Française.
Yvonne Furneaux (1928~), actress.
Philippe Noiret (1930~), actor.
Gilles Behat (1949~), actor and director.

Politicians and Military

Lyderic, (620-?) legendary founder of the city.
Jeanne de Flandre, (1188/1200? -1244), Countess.
Jeanne Maillotte, (circa 1580), resistance fighter during the Hurlus attacks.
Louis Faidherbe (1818-1889), general, founder of the city of Dakar and senator.
Achille Lienart (1884-1973), « cardinal des ouvriers ».
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), general, resistance fighter, President of France.
Roger Salengro (1890-1936), minister, deputy, and Mayor of Lille.
Augustin Laurent (1896-1990), minister, deputy, resistance fighter, and Mayor of Lille.
Madeleine Damerment (1917-1944), French Resistance fighter - Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre, Medaille combattant volontaire de la Resistance
Pierre Mauroy (1928~), deputy, senator, Prime Minister of France, and Mayor of Lille.
Martine Aubry (1950~), deputy, minister, and Mayor of Lille.

Transport in Lille

Lille is an important crossroads in the European TGV network: it lies on the Eurostar line to London and the Thalys network to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne. It has two train stations, which stand next door to each other: the Lille-Europe station (Gare Lille-Europe) and the Lille-Flandres station (Gare Lille-Flandres).

The VAL system (vehicule automatique leger = light automated vehicle) is a driverless metro. Line 2 is 32 km long with 43 stations, the first and longest automatic metro line in the world, opened May 16, 1983. Trains are only 26 m long (two linked cars) and are rubber-tired. There are 60 stations which go as far as the Belgian border.

Highways

Five autoroutes pass by Lille, the densest confluence of highways in France after Paris:
Autoroute A27 : Lille - Tournai - Brussels / Liege - England
Autoroute A23 : Lille - Valenciennes
Autoroute A1 : Lille - Arras - Paris / Reims - Lyon
Autoroute A25 : Lille - Dunkerque - Calais - England
Autoroute A22 : Lille - Anvers - Netherlands

A sixth one, the A24, should link Amiens to Lille.

Air Traffic

Lille Lesquin (http://www.lille.aeroport.fr/) International Airport is 15 minutes from the city center. It is the 12th most frequented French airport in number of passengers:
around 970,000 passengers in 2001
almost 873,000 passengers in 2003

In terms of shipping, it ranks fourth, with almost 38,000 tonnes of freight which pass through each year.

Waterways

Lille is the 3rd largest French river port after Paris and Strasbourg. The river Deule is connected to regional waterways with over 680 km of navigatable waters. The Deule connects to Northern Europe via the River Scarpe and the River Escaut (towards Belgium and the Netherlands), and internationally via the Lys (to Dunkerque and Calais).

History of Lille

In the 19th century Lille became the centre of French industry due to the large nearby coal deposits. It thus became a central part of the country’s rail network.

Ancient History

The legend of “Lyderic and Phinaert” puts the foundation of the city of “L’Isle” at 640. Although the first mention of the town appears in archives from the year 1066, some archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BCE, most notably in the modern-day quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes, and Old Lille.

The name Lille comes from insula or l’Isla, since the area was at one time marshy. This name was used for the Count of Flanders’ castle (Chateau du Buc), built on dry land in the middle of the marsh.

The Count of Flanders controlled a number of old Roman cities (Boulogne, Arras, Cambrai) as well as some founded by the Carolingians (Valenciennes, Saint-Omer, Gand, Brugge, Anvers). The region of Flanders thus extended to the left bank of the River Escaut, one of the most rich and properous regions of Europe. The original inhabitants of this region were the Celts, who were followed by the Menapiens, the Morins, the Atrebates, and the Verviens, Germanic tribes. From 830 until around 910, the Vikings invaded Flanders. After the destruction caused by Norman and Hungarian invasion, the eastern part of the region fell under the eyes of the area princes. It is in this context that the city was created.

Middle ages

From the 12th century, the fame of the Lille cloth fair began to grow. In 1144 Saint Sauveur parish was formed, which would give its name to the modern-day quartier saint Sauveur.

The counts of Flanders, Boulogne, and Hainaut came together with England and the Holy Roman Empire of Germany and declared war on France and King Philippe Auguste, a war that ended with the French victory at Bouvines in 1214. Count Ferrand of Portugal was imprisoned and the county fell into dispute: it would be his wife, Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Constantinople, who ruled the city. They say she was well-loved by the residents of Lille, who by that time numbered 10,000.

In 1224, the monk Bertrand of Rains, doubtlessly encouraged by local lords, tried to pass himself off as Baldwin I of Constantinople (the father of Jeanne of Flanders), who had disappeared at the battle of Adrianople. He pushed the kingdoms of Flanders and Hainaut towards sedition against Jeanne in order to recover his land. She called her cousin, Louis VIII (”The Lion”). He unmasked the imposter, who Countess Jeanne quickly had hanged. In 1226 the King agreed to free Ferrand of Portugal. Count Ferrand died in 1233, and his daughter Marie soon after. In 1235, Jeanne granted a city charter by which city governors would be chosen each All Saint’s Day by four commissioners chosen by the ruler. On February 6th, 1236, she founded the Countess’s Hospital (L’hospice de la comtesse), which remains one of the most beautiful buildings in Old Lille. It was in her honor that the hospital of the Regional Medical University of Lille was named “Jeanne of Flanders Hospital” in the 20th century.

The Countess died in 1244 in the Abbey of Marquette, leaving no heirs. The rule of Flanders and Hainaut thus fell to her sister, Marguerite of Flanders, then to Marguerite’s brother, Guy de Dampierre. Lille fell under the rule of France from 1304 to 1369, after the battle of Mons-en-Pevele.

The county of Flanders fell to the Duchy of Burgundy next, after the 1369 marriage of Marguerite de Male, Countess of Flanders, and Philippe II le Hardi, Duke of Burgundy. Lille thus became one of the three capitals of said Duchy, along with Brussels and Dijon. By 1445, Lille counted some 25,000 residents. Philippe le Bon, Duke of Burgundy, was even more powerful than the King of France, and made Lille an administrative and financial capital.

On February 17, 1454, one year after the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, Philippe le Bon organised a Patagruelian banquet at his Lille palace, the still-celebrated “Banquet of the Pheasant’s Vow”. There the Duke and his court undertook an oath to Christianity.

In 1477, at the death of the last duke of Burgundy, Charles le Temeraire, Marie de Bourgogne married a Hapsburg, Maximilian of Austria, who thus became Count of Flanders. At the end of the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Spanish Flanders fell to his eldest son, and thus under the rule of Philip II of Spain, King of Spain. The city remained under Spanish rule until the reign of Philip IV of Spain.

The Modern Era

The 16th century was marked, above all, by the outbreak of the Plague, a boom in the regional textile industry, and the Protestant revolts.

The first Calvinists appeared in the area in 1542; by 1555 there was anti-Protestant repression taking place. In 1578, the Hurlus, a group of Protestant rebels, stormed the castle of the Counts of Mouscron. They were removed four months later by a Catholic Wallon regiment, after which they tried several times between 1581 and 1582 to take the city of Lille, all in vain. The Hurlus were notably held back by the legendary Jeanne Maillotte. At the same time (1581), at the call of England’s Queen Elisabeth I , the north of the Spanish Netherlands, having gained a Protestant majority, successfully revolted and formed the United Provinces.

In 1667, King Louis XIV (the Sun-King) successfully laid siege to Lille, resulting in it becoming French in 1668 under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, provoking discontent among the citizens of the prosperous city. A number of important public works undertaken between 1667 and 1670, such as the Citadel (erected by Vauban), or the creation of the quartiers of Saint-Andre and la Madeleine, enabled the King to gain the confidence of his Flemish subjects.

During five years, from 1708 to 1713, the city was occupied by the Dutch, during the War of the Spanish Succession. Throughout the 18th century, Lille remained profoundly Catholic, which explains why the city did not really take part in the French Revolution, though there were riots and the destruction of churches. In 1790, the city held their first municipal elections.
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