Some interesting facts about Lille...

• Lille was first noted in the history books in 1066. Its name derives from the Latin 'insula' meaning island. This is because the city rose up from the marshlands.

• The first railway from Lille to Paris was completed in 1846.

• Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille.

• Lille has been home to many famous Frenchmen including Louis Pasteur, Henri Matisse, Charles de Gaulle and Antoine Watteau.

• During la Braderie over 200 km of streets and sidewalks are covered in stalls!

• The famous Lille bookshop, Le Furet du Nord, is one of the largest bookshops in the world covering over 8000 square feet!

• The famous Lille citadel has a circumference of 2200 metres. Building it required sixty million bricks, the quarrying of three million stone blocks and seventy thousand sandstone foundations.