The Nord-Pas-de-Calais region sits at the top of France, bordered by Belgium to the east, the English Channel to the north, and closer to London by rail than to Lyon. Its image has long been shaped by its industrial past — coal mines, textile mills, and the battlefields of two world wars — but this undersells a region of real character and some unexpectedly attractive corners.
Lille is the regional capital and the main reason to come. Its Flemish Grand Place and old stock exchange (Vieille Bourse) are among the finest civic squares in northern Europe, and the city's bar and restaurant culture, influenced by Belgium as much as France, is genuinely lively. The Palais des Beaux-Arts houses one of the best fine art collections in France outside Paris.
The coastline from Boulogne-sur-Mer north to Dunkerque offers sandy beaches and chalk cliffs — cold and windswept, but dramatic. Boulogne itself is worth a visit for its medieval upper town and excellent fish market; it is one of the most important fishing ports in France. The World War One battlefields around Arras and the Somme are sombre but significant, and the memorials and cemeteries that dot the region are among the most moving anywhere in Europe.
Getting around is easy: the Eurostar stops at Lille, and from there the region is well connected by train and car.
