Lille : a city with taste
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Left : The Statue de la Déesse (The Statue of the Goddess) in Place du Général de Gaulle (General de Gaulle Square). In the background stands the Beffroi de la Chambre de Commerce (New Stock Exchange Belfry), and to the right is the Vieille Bourse (Old Exchange) built by Napoleon. |
| Right : City Luminaries : the Opéra de Lille (Lille Opera) and the Beffroi de la Chambre de Commerce (New Stock Exchange Belfry). | |
Although Lille has a reputation as industrial hot-house, it's also an attractive city, full of charms and excellent restaurants, food being one one the Lillois's major hobbies.
The city has a strong Flemish atmosphere, and much of the old centre is built in a Northern European style. Perhaps most typical of this style is the Old Exchange, built in an exhuberant Flemish baroque with almost every surface crawling with carved decoration.
Today, its arcades house florists and second-hand book dealers, but it also serves as a reminder of Lille's historic importance as a thriving economic centre in the Spanish-ruled Netherlands.
In fact, in the 17th century the city was so rich that it attracted Louis XIV's attention and he took the city from the Spaniards in 1667. A dual process of Frenchification and foortification immediately took place, with the military architect Vauban being called in to build a citadel to keep the citizenq suitably subdued. This star-shaped fortressstill dominates the city, and in summer the lawns outside its massive walls are perfect for a pre-dinner evening stroll.
But there is much more to Lille than olde worlde charm. It has embraced the 20th century with relish and boasts a high-trch public transport sutem and the famous Université des Sciences de Lille. but perhaps the city's biggest claim to fame is its Museum of Fine Arts.
Founded during the French Revolution, it was given a huge neo-Gothic home in the 19th century. This has recently been given a complete face-lift, and today the museum is a stunning amalgam of the stylish 20th-century technology abd 19th-century magnificence.
As for the contents - Goya, Van Dyck, Rubens - they have kept thei timeless appeal and fully justify the museum's claim to be the second most important in France after the Louvre.
Would you like a virtual visit of Lille ?
Arcades of the Old Exchange
Rue de la Monnaie
Place aux oignons
The old tramway
The canal and barges
The old windmill, near Lille
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