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The city of Lille – after Paris, Lyon and Marseille – forms the fourth largest metropolitan area in France. The city is located in the extreme north of France near the border with Belgium, just 35 minutes from Brussels, 1 hour from Paris and 2 hours from London. Lille is the largest city and the capital of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, as well as being an important industrial and cultural center in the north of the country. The historic center of the city shows a clear Flemish influence, and is characterized by the Grand Place (place Charles de Gaulle) and some valuable historic buildings such as that of the old Stock Exchange (Vieille Bourse) from the 17th century. In Lille there is also a beautiful fortified citadel built in the 17th century by Vauban. The Lille Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts) – one of the most important French art museums – houses works by Raphael, Rubens, Donatello, Delacroix, Bouts, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Goya, El Greco, etc. The Lille Christmas Market is one of the most beautiful in the region and is the most important event in the city during the Advent period.
LILLE CHRISTMAS MARKET
Lille Christmas Market (Marché de Noël de Lille) on place Rihour. The Lille Christmas market is made up of 80 wooden houses that usually crowd the central place Rihour, where you can find gift ideas, artistic objects related to Christmas, gastronomic products, Christmas culinary specialties, decorations for the Christmas tree, and famous figurines of the Provencal nativity scene, the santons. The city center with its almost four thousand shops offers many opportunities for Christmas shopping, the Grand Place is dominated by a large Christmas tree, you will find musical performances and entertainment for children. During the weeks in which the market takes place, a Big Wheel (Grande Roue) is usually set up from which you can admire the panorama of the illuminated city. The square where the Christmas market takes place is located in the pedestrian center of the city, a few steps from the place de Gaulle, the heart of the historic city.