France Guide
The north
Vieux Lille
The east side of the Grand'Place is dominated by the lavishly ornate Ancienne Bourse, as perfect a representative of its age as could be imagined. To the merchants of seventeenth-century Lille, all things Flemish were the epitome of wealth and taste; they were not men to stint on detail, either here or on the imposing surrounding mansions. The courtyard of the Bourse is now a flea market, with stalls selling books in the afternoons. A favourite Lillois pastime is lounging around the fountain at the centre of the square, in the middle of which is a column commemorating the city's resistance to the Austrian siege of 1792, topped by La Déesse (the goddess), modelled on the wife of the mayor at the time – hence the square's alternative moniker.
In the adjacent place du Théâtre, you can see how Flemish Renaissance architecture was assimilated and Frenchified in grand flights of Baroque extravagance – above all at the Opéra ( 
08.20.48.90.40, 
www.opera-lille.fr; closed July & Aug), built at the turn of the twentieth century by Louis-Marie Cordonnier, who also designed the extravagant belfry of the neighbouring Nouvelle Bourse – now the regional chamber of commerce.
From the north side of these two squares, the smart shopping streets, rues Esquermoise and Lepelletier, lead towards the heart of Vieux Lille, a warren of red-brick terraces on cobbled lanes and passages. It's an area of great character and charm, successfully reclaimed and reintegrated into the mainstream of the city's life, having been for years a dilapidated North African ghetto. To experience the atmosphere of Vieux Lille, head up towards rue d'Angleterre, rue du Pont-Neuf and the Porte de Gand, rue de la Monnaie and place Lion-d'Or. Places to eat and drink are everywhere, interspersed with chic boutiques.
Vieux Lille's main sight is the Hospice Comtesse at 32 rue de la Monnaie. Twelfth century in origin, though much reconstructed in the eighteenth, it served as a hospital before becoming an orphanage after World War I, and its medicinal garden, a riot of poppies and verbena, is a delight. The Hospice is the setting for a collection of paintings, tapestries and porcelain of the region, re-creating the ambiance of a seventeenth century Flemish convent (Mon 2–6pm, Wed– Sun 10am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; €3).