Lille Old Town stretches from Grand' Place to the ramparts at Porte de Gand and the Citadelle on the town outskirts. Its 16th- and 17th-century Flemish houses wind around the 19th-century cathedral, finished with a shock modern façade in 1999.
The church doors, by Holocaust survivor George Jeanclos, are worth a look. On rue de la Monnaie, Lille's oldest street, visit the Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse. With its beautiful blue and white tiling, this excellently preserved building is a record of daily life in centuries past. Linger by Guillaume Werniers' fine tapestries and Watteau paintings.
At the back of the old town is rue Princesse, home to the Général de Gaulle Birthplace Museum, devoted to the French president - Lille's most famous son.