Since it carries the name Bourse it suggests that this used to the the former stock exchange,…read morethough considering that were are now in France I would have thought that the Stock Exchange would have been located in Paris. However, what this place actually is is a market place, and when we wandered through here on Sunday discovered that all of the regional booksellers had descended upon the town to begin selling their wares. Basically you could find quite a number of second-hand French books as well as numerous posters and other things (such as records). There are also a number of shops around the outside that are basically regular shops, but if you are looking for a bargain then definitely step inside and have a bit of a look around.

A brilliant building to check out in the middle of Lille. Inside there is also a book market and…read moresome art works sold which is quite a wonderful use of space in the Old Stock Exchange!

Lille is a visually spectacular city, and the Grand Place, for me, was the icing on the cake. To…read morejust sit in this square and marvel at the buildings and soak in the atmosphere is really quite a wonderful thing to do. It's a wonderful place to sit in the sun, and there's a number of bars and eateries in the area too, well worth checking out.

From the owner: L'abbaye ouverte à tous Au fond du parc s'étire cette abbaye fondée en 1228 par Saint-Louis, qui…read moreabrite notamment un cloître, un superbe réfectoire et une bibliothèque. Un magnifique parc ainsi qu'un jardin d'inspiration médiévale viennent compléter ce lieu. Plus qu'un musée, c'est un vrai lieu de vie. Un festival de musique y est organisé de juin à septembre, une Fondation soutient son activité et 4 jours en octobre, des ateliers sont proposés aux enfants (tailleur de pierre, danse médiévale...). Royaumont organise aussi des séminaires et des réceptions d'exception (minimum 10 personnes) avec possibilité de manger et dormir sur place.

This chateau is a must see if you are in the area. It is both gorgeous from the outside and the…read moreinside. I find that a lot of castles are just interesting from the outside, often the inside is dark, damp and empty. This particular castle has many interesting items on exhibit, as well as shockingly beautiful and unique rooms on the interior. I have visited palaces and castles in Germany, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Russia, England, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Switzerland etc and this particular castle was very unique in how it was decorated. The aspects of plants, animals, mythological monsters and history are all intertwined to create a very interesting style through out the palace: from porcupines on the walls, sculptures of bulls contemplating slugs and monsters built into fireplaces. However, I do recommend finding a tour guide. We utilized the recording device tour and were extremely disappointed. The recording/guide was role playing and a bit confusing. The worst part of the exercise was the need to match the map to the actual points of interest, which could be aggravating. Another tip, go down to the cellars! It is a lot more interesting than one may expect! We noticed a lot of groups skipping this area and recommend against it.

Standing above the quaint village with good restaurants and hotels, this chateau is worth a tour…read more After tea at an outdoor table in the village, we parked outside the gates and strolled up to the entrance. For 6 Euro, grab a brochure in English (several languages are available) and take the numbered walking tour, which leads you through the various restored rooms upstairs. There's an interesting display of lead sculptures in another section. Do not miss the basement section full of grave sculptures. When you walk in, voices starting whispering and projections of one of the sculptures shows up on the wall, which is all rather creepy, but interesting. The grounds are lovely, and you get a romanticised version of what the chateau was like in medieval times. Not totally historic, but well done.

We were staying in the area for a few days and found out about this Chateau online, we really liked…read morethe looked and came for a visit. There is plenty and free parking just across the street. We just came for a walk in the park and to enjoy the Chateau from the outside. Did cost us 9 Euros each and we thought that was a fair price for what we got. Our Bulldog was welcome here as well. The place is first mentioned in history in the 11th Century. The chateau that still is here today was build in the 15th Century as a fort. It's in the same familys hands since the beginning. It's been named a historic monument since 1840 and there are other buildings on the grounds from the same time as well as a chapel from the 19th Century. The Chateau is a picture-perfect building. Just like you would imagine a fairy-tale Castle. It's a real piece of beauty with the (empty) moat. There's also a big rose garden on the grounds as well as a fruit garden. Also a nice piece of land (mostly woodland) to have a small walk. Which we did...very enjoyable and peaceful. Almost nobody around. There are several medieval games to try out for kids (and grown-ups of course). So surely a whole family can have some fun here. It's all mostly flat and easy to walk - also mostly suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. There are some special events sometimes and also tours through the castle. We really had a great time here. Wasn't too busy, was really lovely to enjoy the architecture and the park.