Lille , by far the largest city in the north, is the very symbol of French industry and working-class politics. Its mayor, Pierre Mauroy, was the first Socialist prime minister appointed by Mitterrand in 1981. In every direction the city spreads far into the countryside, a mass of suburbs and heavy industrial plants. Lille exhibits most of the problems of contemporary France: some of the worst poverty and racial conflict in the country, a crime rate rivalled only by Paris and Marseille, and a certain regionalism - Lillois sprinkle their speech with a French-Flemish patois and to some extent assert a Flemish identity. But there is also classic French affluence. The city has a lovely centre, Vieux Lille, some vibrant and obviously prosperous commercial areas, modern residential squares, a large university, a brand-new métro system, and a very serious attitude to its culture and restaurants. Although you may not consider Lille a prime destination, if you're travelling through this region it's worth at least a day and a night.
The focal point of the city is the Grande-Place (otherwise known as place du Général-de-Gaulle), which marks the southern boundary of the old quarter, Vieux Lille . To the south is the central pedestrianized shopping area which extends along rue de Béthune as far as the adjacent squares of place Béthune and place de la République. On Saturdays, especially, the area is so jammed with shoppers that you can hardly move, and crowded outdoor cafés add to the street life. The major festival of the year, the Grande Braderie, takes place over the first weekend of September, when a big street parade and vast flea market fill the streets of the old town by day, and the evenings see a moules frites frenzy in all the restaurants, with empty mussel shells piled up in the streets.
The central Grande-Place is just a few minutes' walk from the gare SNCF (originally Paris's Gare du Nord, but brought here brick by brick in 1865). Despite being the fifth-largest city in France, the centre of Lille is small enough to walk round and, unless you choose to visit Villeneuve-d'Ascq on the outskirts, you won't even need to use the city's efficient métro system.