Tourist attractions Roubaix

Renovated with love, the old town has rediscovered its 17 and 18C facades not long ago covered in disgraceful render. This has led to evidence of the «Lille style» with facades where bricks and sculpted stones are mixed. You'll discover many examples..

Built between 1887 and 1892, this summer palace was extended in the 1990s by the architects Jean-Marc Ibos et Myrto Vitart to include a narrow 70m x 6.50m building, the glass façade of which reflects the image of the back of the main building. The ga..

The cathedral influenced churches in Tournai and the Escaut Valley, giving birth to Scaldian art. Visitors are impressed by its huge size and the massive outlines of its towers . The nave and transept date from the 12C. The slender 13C Gothic chance..

Once the "temple of hygiene", these splendid art deco public baths (1927-1932) built by Albert Baert are now the home of the town's artistic and industrial heritage. The bathers of yesteryear have now been replaced with 19C and 20C sculptur..

Extended and modernised, the former Musée d’Art Moderne Lille Métropole now has a new name and twice its original exhibition space. The collection of raw art is now on permanent display, and the Dominique Bozo library, dedicated to modern, contempora..

This was built in 1652-1653 by Julien Destrée at the request of the Lille businessmen who wanted a Stock Exchange to rival that of Holland. It's made out of 24 dormer windowed houses set out around a rectangular courtyard which acted as a centre for ..

Housed in the vaulted rooms of the Château de Robersart (built in Renaissance style at the end of the 18C and restored in 1995), this museum contains a superb collection of dolls and toys dating from the mid-19C to the 1960s: model trains, miniature ..

This wholesale greengrocer's house, built in 1636 is a superb example of Flemish Baroque style. Its lavish decoration contains corner irons and jutting pediments. The house used to contain a gateway onto the River Basse-Deûle which was knocked down i..

Charles de Gaulle was born here on the 22nd of November 1890 in this house where his maternal grandfather had a lace workshop. The studio and the house have been transformed into a museum between them possessing a vast amount of documents and memento..

Antique dealers and decorators have put a lot into this street which used to play host to a Mint. The left hand side is made up of 18C houses with decorated façades (mortar and alembic and in an old apothecary featuring dolphins, wheat sheaf, palm tr..

These magnificent buildings dating from the 15C to the 18C began life as a hospital, and went on to be used as a hospice and then an orphanage. Once through the monumental sandstone doorway, you come to the Salle des Malades (1470) with its superb ..

This is a beautiful example of a church-hall, on which building started in the 15C. It has five naves, five roofs and five gables. Inside you will see a Christ of pity «Jesus scourged», often covered up with a velvet robe. In the area surrounding the..

Dominated by the old Stock Exchange, the Grand'Garde - the building with the ornamented pediment containing the daily newspaper quotidian La Voix du Nord - this is the lively centre of the town. In the centre Goddess's column symbolises the heroic re..

This portal by Simon Vollant, put up between 1685 and 1692, served as the town gateway (it was part of the ramparts) and arc de triomphe. The arc de triomphe was built in honour of Louis XIV , secured by his Victory at the summit.

Having taken Lille, Louis XIV, quickly built a citadel. Vauban handled the plans. 2000 men were given shovels and pickaxes. The site comprises five semi-circular strongholds which are still occupied by the army. The royal gateway leads to the Weapon ..

This museum is housed in a former 19C farm that grew flax, one of Flanders' and the Lys area's main activities of the past. It recalls how flax was grown, linen cloth originally produced and the history of the flax industry, via scenes with life-size..

This charming little village lies between St Martin and Our Lady churches. It is surprisingly quiet amid the busy surrounding district. The Beguine convent founded in 1238 was richly endowed by the Countess of Flanders, Jane of Constantinople in 1241..

The towers of Our Lady church, founded by Baldwin of Constantinople in the 13C, overlook picturesque alleys. The poet Guido Gezelle was its vicar in the 19C. Inside, note the curiously sculpted spandrels of the 14C counts of Flanders chapel, which al..

This bridge is a reminder of military architecture. It was part of the second set of ramparts built in the 13C to defend the town entrance from the River Escaut. The next bridge (boulevard Delwart) offers a fine view of the rounded sides of its tow..

Belgium's oldest belfry has 12C foundations. The base was reinforced by polygonal turrets in 1294 and the upper sections were rebuilt after a fire, a century later. Until 1817, several of the rooms were used as jails. The first floor offers a fine v..