Northern France (optional family-history add-on)
Lille
Major Flemish city in Hauts-de-France; the practical base for Mary's Casteel/Blangerval ancestral side-trip and a worthwhile northern add-on reachable by train from Reims.
Lille is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region — a lively city with a strongly Flemish character, named among the places in Mary's Casteel / du Chastel Family of Blangerval line (source: Holley-family.pdf). It serves as the natural base for reaching Blangerval (Blangerval-Blangermont), and stands on its own as a stop.
§ 01Highlights
Highlights
- Grand Place (Place du Général de Gaulle) — ornate gabled Flemish façades, a few hundred metres from both train stations (source: en.lilletourism.com)
- Vieux-Lille — cobbled old town of brick courtyards and boutiques (source: en.lilletourism.com)
- La Vieille Bourse — the 1652–53 former stock exchange, 24 houses around a cloister (source: en.lilletourism.com)
- Palais des Beaux-Arts — one of France's richest art museums (source: en.lilletourism.com)
- Town hall belfry — at 104 m the world's tallest belfry, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (source: en.lilletourism.com)
§ 02Getting there & onward
Getting there & onward
- From Reims (Champagne end of the trip): ~1h48–2h20 by TGV/SNCF with one change (source: thetrainline.com / sncf-connect.com).
- Lille has two central stations (Lille-Flandres and Lille-Europe) and is a Eurostar hub.
- For the ancestral village of Blangerval (Blangerval-Blangermont), rent a car from Lille or Arras — there is no rail to Blangerval. See Casteel / du Chastel Family of Blangerval.
§ 03Related pages
Related pages
