Lille City Info

Lille Hotels

In its year as Europe's City of Culture, Lille hosted more than 2000 events in 2004.Its nine million visitors relished a real cultural feast at a European crossroads just 38 minutes from Brussels, 1hour from Paris and 1h and 40 minutes from London. Visit the different museums: Palais des Beaux-Arts (the biggest museum in France after the Louvre), the Maison Natale Charles de Gaulle ( Lille is his birthplace), Museum of the Hospice Comtesse. Lille really deserves its title of City of Heritage and Art. Besides its colorful Flemish architecture and its narrow ornamented facades (of which the Vieille Bourse is a prime example), Lille has a rich and varied heritage. French classical style houses sit alongside the eclectism of "grands boulevards " or even the Maison Folie - these former factories (textile, brewery) that are experiencing a start as new cultural and meeting centres. Markets and regional food and drink specialties will also represent a delicious part of your stay.

There are various things to see in Lille. Modern Art Museum is one of the sights worth to visit. Situated in a vast park with sculptures, the museum was designed by the architect Roland Simounet to house the donation Geneviève and Jean Masurel. The collection covers most of the great names and most of the trends of influence in France at the beginning of the 20 th century: Léger, Modigliani, the cubists Braque, Picasso, Laurens, the fauves Derain and Rouault, the surrealists Masso and Miro, also the Ecole de Montparnasse, the Ecole de Paris and Art Naïf as well as work by artists from the north of France. Septentrion Fondation is another place to visit in Lille. The Vert Bois domain stretches over 30 hectares. The Foundation maintains a cultural current through its temporary shows and the permanent exhibition of its works of art. THe Castle, built in the 18 th century, is open in July and August. It presents decorative arts and an outstanding quality furniture.Donot miss the village of craftsmen.

Lille Tourist Attractions

Museum of the Hospice Comtesse

You can visit the Museum of the Hospice Comtesse, which was founded in 1237 by Countess of Flanders, Jane of Constantinople and housing a Northern art and culture collection. There are more than one hundred masterpieces of Flemish and Dutch painting on display here, with Lillois earthenware, Delftware, silver and gold plates etc. Close to the Hospice Comtesse, is the Cathedral Notre-Dame-de-la Treille (Cix).

Musée des Beaux Arts ( Fine Arts Museum )

To the South stands the recently renovated Musée des Beaux Arts (Fine Arts Museum) Built between 1889 and 1892 it is one of the finest art galleries in Europe and second in size only to the Louvre in France. It exhibits an important collection of paintings from Rubens to Picasso and has a fine collection of Spanish paintings by Goya and others. It also has galleries of Medieval and Renaissance exhibits as well as a good selection of sculptures, drawings and ceramics.

Natural History and Geological Museum

Travelling further by foot to Rue de Bruxelles you arrive at the Natural History and Geological Museum. In this 19th Century building you will encounter both regional and exotic, land as well as sea creatures. Along with the high quality stuffed animals there are live displays of insects and fish. Rocks, minerals and fossils from the region's coal mines illustrate the geological history of the region. Finally there is an ethnographic collection from Oceanic, African, Asian and American civilisations, including an Egyptian Mummy.

The Beffroi

Leave the museum and head for Porte de Paris erected between 1685 and 1692 by Louis XIV, to commemorate the return of of the city to France. The Beffroi, a 105 metre tower now fills your vision. Completed in 1932 it forms part of the Town Hall. At the bottom of the tower are sculptures of Lille 's Giants.

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