Online dictionary of France travel and tourism: Lille

This is the online dictionary of France developed by Free Light Software. By clicking on a French word, you can find France related sites from French search engines. By clicking on a globe icon, you can display the locality on maps of France and Paris. By clicking on a thumbnail picture, you can enlarge it.

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Lille

French words: Lille
keywords: town
related topics: TGV
related web sites: http://www.mairie-lille.fr , http://www.lilletourism.com
explanation: Metropolis of northern France, Lille is a young town contrary to others like Boulogne and Arras which should have a Roman background. Built on a river islet (Lille means "the island"), Lille had seen the owner several times changed (Flanders, Burgundy, Austria, Spain) until 1668 when Louis XIV conquered it. In 19th century, it was a center of French industry thanks to coal mines nearby. Lille is the capital of Nord-Pas de Calais region with the population 215,000 and reachable from Paris in 1 hour by TGV.