France, Lille

Lille is the main city of France's fourth largest metropolitan area. It is located to the country's north, on the Deûle River. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais région. It is also the préfecture (capital) of the Nord département.

History

The legend of "Lyderic and Phinaert" puts the foundation of the city of "L'Isle" at 640. Although the first mention of the town appears in archives from the year 1066, some archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BCE, most notably in the modern-day quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes, and Old Lille.

Education

With over 144 000 students, the metropolitan area of Lille is one of the first student cities in France. The Catholic University was founded in 1875.

Miscellaneous

Lille has one of France's largest university student population with, depending on the information source, from 95,000 to 149,533 students in 2002-2003. The urban area is one of the biggest in France with more than 1 million inhabitants.

Economy

A former major textile manufacturing centre, Lille forms the heart of a larger conurbation, regrouping Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing and Villeneuve d'Ascq, which is France's 4th-largest urban conglomeration with a 1999 population of over 1.1 million.

Transport

Lille is an important crossroads in the European high-speed rail network: it lies on the Eurostar line to London and the French TGV network to Paris, Brussels and other major centres in France such as Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse.