10 Interesting Lille Facts

Facts About Lille

1. Lille is the capital of the region Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

2. Lille hosts an annual braderie on the first weekend in September. It is one of the largest gatherings of France and the largest flea market in Europe.

3. Archaeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC.

4. Lille is the first city of the Métropole Européenne de Lille with a population of 1,182,127, making it the fourth-largest urban area in France.

5. Lille is twinned with: Cologne, Germany; Erfurt, Germany; Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Haifa, Israel; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Leeds, England; Liège, Belgium; Nablus, Palestine; Oujda, Morocco; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Saint-Louis, Senegal; Tlemcen, Algeria; Turin, Italy; Valladolid, Spain & Wrocław, Poland.

6. Lille is the third-largest French river port after Paris and Strasbourg.

7. The first mention of the town dates from 1066.

8. Lille is at the northern tip of France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near France’s border with Belgium.

9. Lille hosted the 100th World Esperanto Congress, which took place in 2015. 

10. The city’s most major association football club, Lille OSC, currently plays in Ligue 1, the highest level of football in France.