In the city of Lille, in French Flanders, northern France

 French Flanders is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France, where a dialect of Dutch was (or still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts-de-France and roughly corresponds to the arrondissements (administrative districts) of Lille.

================== ================================================
(in northern France) The city of Lille, in French Flanders, is found on the Deûle River near this country's border with Belgium. It is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille. Although Count Baldwin IV of Flanders fortified Lille in the 11th century, the  medieval town was destroyed or changed hands several times. Louis XIV besieged and claimed it in 1667. After being captured by the duke of Marlborough in 1708, it was finally ceded to France in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht. Lille was damaged and also occupied by the Germans during World Wars I and II.
+ With Tourcoing and Roubaix, Lille forms one of the largest conurbations in France. Its commercial and industrial activities have been stimulated by its proximity to the northern countries of the European Union and by its fortunate communications location. It is an important railway junction with high-speed rail links to London, Brussels, Paris, and other regions of southern and western France. It is served by a regional airport and a river port, and it lies at the hub of an extensive network of highways.

+ Recent decades have seen the country's fourth-largest city (by greater urban area) evolve from an industrial center into a glittering cultural and commercial hub. The boulevard de la Liberté, running southeast-northwest, divides the Old Town in the north, which used to be cramped within the city walls, from the "new town" in the south, with its wider streets. At the northwestern end of the boulevard stands the imposing (17th-century) pentagonal military citadel, the best preserved of all the military buildings designed by the engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. The fortifications around the Old Town have been destroyed, but the majestic archway, the Porte de Paris, still stands. The old hospital Hospice Comtesse, founded in 1236, was rebuilt in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Vieille Bourse, a 17th-century building in typically Flemish style, stands near the square named for General Charles de Gaulle, a native son. The local museum has one of the richest art collections in France, with paintings dating from the 15th to the 20th century. Highlights include its enchanting Old Town with magnificent French and Flemish architecture, renowned art museums, stylish shopping, outstanding cuisine, a nightlife scene bolstered by 67,000 university students, and some 1600 designers in its environs.

+ Lille is indeed an architectural feast with strong Flemish influences from the Grand Place (pictured here) to the basilica of Notre Dame de la Treille, to the quiet streets of row houses and gardens.