Region: Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Population: 230,000
City ambassadors: Vahid Halilhodzic (former LOSC Lille coach), Mat Bastard ('Skip the Use' singer)

Lille (Rijsel in Flemish) may be France's most underrated major city. In recent decades this once-grimy industrial metropolis, its economy based on declining industries, has shrugged off its grey image and transformed itself into a glittering and self-confident cultural and commercial hub.

Highlights for the visitor include an attractive old town with a strong Flemish accent, three renowned art museums, stylish shopping, some excellent dining options and a cutting-edge, student-driven nightlife scene. The Lillois have a well-deserved reputation for friendliness – and are so proud of being friendly that they often mention it!

What to See

•  Lille Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History and Geology has been installed in the academic district of the city's staffs since the starting of the twentieth century more than 200 years ago. Today it is the main extraordinary gallery of its kind in our locale.

•  La Grande Braderie De Lille

La Grande Braderie De Lille is famous as the largest flea market in Europe. It gathers two to three million visitors every year. This place was originated in the 12th century. This market has evolved from time to time. This place has its own significant history, which anyone must visit when he/she visits Lillie.

Transport

The Lille Metropole has a mixed mode public transport system, which is considered one of the most modern in the whole of France. It comprises buses, trams and a driverless metro system, all of which are operated under the Transpole name.

The Lille Metro is a VAL system (vehicule automatique leger = light automated vehicle) that opened on 16 May 1983, becoming the first automatic metro line in the world. The metro system has two lines, with a total length of 45 kilometres (28 miles) and 60 stations. The tram system consists of two interurban tram lines, connecting central Lille to the nearby communities of Roubaix and Tourcoing, and has 45 stops. 68 urban bus routes cover the metropolis, 8 of which reach into Belgium.

Lille is also an important crossroads in the European high-speed rail network. It lies on the Eurostar line to London.

Distances to other UEFA EURO 2016 venues
Lens – 40km
Saint-Denis – 215km
Paris – 225km
Lyon – 690km
Saint-Etienne – 750km
Bordeaux – 805km
Toulouse – 895km
Marseille – 1000km
Nice – 1170km

Football

LOSC Lille (Lille Olympique Sporting Club) was formed on 23 September 1944 with the merger of two local sides, Olympique Lillois and Sporting Club Fivois. The post-war period was a very successful one for the Lille outfit, winning five trophies (two Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups).

A sporting and financial crisis in 1964/65 plunged LOSC into troubled waters. Relegation seemed inevitable and arrived two years later. Reluctantly the team had to renounce their professional status and, for the first time since 1932, Lille was not represented in the professional league. Ultimately LOSC were relaunched as a new entity in the French Amateur Championship (CFA) and became northern group champions in 1970/71.

At the end of the 1990s, with LOSC somewhat rudderless, Vahid Halilhodzic was appointed manager to steady the ship. It would not be long before the manager known as 'the saviour', along with club president Bernard Lecompte, was acclaimed by 16,000 fans at LOSC's former Grimonprez-Jooris stadium. Accompanied by LOSC's players, the manager, president and fans celebrated promotion from Ligue 2 on the last day of the season on 20 May 2000.

Claude Puel took charge for 2002/03 alongside a new president, Michel Seydoux. Together they forged a rejuvenated LOSC, in particular establishing a new training and technical centre at Luchin. However, the club would have to wait another ten years for their new stadium, Grand Stade Lille Metropole, to be completed. On the pitch, LOSC landed the Ligue 1 championship in May 2011 under the guidance of Rudi Garcia, who succeeded Puel, and secured the double by lifting the French Cup.

 

UEFA capacity: 50,000
Tenants: LOSC Lille
Opened: August 2012

Stade Pierre Mauroy, earlier referred to as Grand Stade Lille Metropole, was built to provide Lille OSC with a new and modern home.

Lille’s original home was Stade Grimonprez-Jooris, where they played until 2004 when they moved away to Stade Lille-Metropole in the hope of redeveloping Stade Grimonprez-Jooris. Plans led to nothing though, and the club instead focused on building a new stadium at a site close to Stade Lille-Metropole.

In the summer of 2013, the stadium was renamed Stade Pierre Mauroy following the death of the former mayor of Lille and prime minister of France.

Stade Pierre Mauroy is a multifunctional arena that can be converted from a football stadium to a large concert venue or smaller indoors sports or concert arena. It is equipped with a retractable roof, which can be opened or closed in about 30 minutes.

Stade Pierre Mauroy has been selected as one of the playing venues of the Euro 2016 Championships, during which it will host four group matches, a round of 16 matches, and a quarter-final.

UEFA EURO 2016 matches

Group stage
12/06/16, 21.00: Germany v Ukraine
15/06/16, 15.00: Russia v Slovakia
19/06/16, 21.00: Switzerland v France
22/06/16, 21.00: Italy v Republic of Ireland

Round of 16
26/06/16, 18.00: WC v 3A/B/F