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Home > Travel France > France Destinations > Lille
Lille
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and comprises various overseas islands and territories which are located in other regions. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. At 674,843 square kilometres, France is the world's 40th-largest country after Myanmar. France is a member of The European Union and Paris is the capital of this nation. The sole official language of France is French. Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions.
Lille is the main city of France's fourth largest metropolitan area, consisting of Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing and their suburbs. It is is located to the country's north, on the Deule River. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region. It is also the prefecture or capital of the Nord departement. It lies near the border with Belgium and its Dutch name is Rijsel.
The city of Lille absorbed Lomme on the 27th of February 2000. As of 2004, the population of Lille stood at 226,800 within an area of 39.51 square kilometers and had a population density of 5,740 inhabitants per square kilometer. The whole metropolitan area of Lille, both on French and Belgian territory, Kortrijk, Tournai was estimated in 2000 at around 1,730,000 inhabitants, ranking as one of the major metropolitan areas of Europe.
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.
Lille is an important crossroads in the European high-speed rail network: it lies on the Eurostar line to London and the French TGV, Train a GrandeVitesse, network to Paris, Brussels and other major centres in France. It has two train stations, which stand next door to one another: Lille-Europe station, Gare Lille-Europe, which primarily serves high-speed trains, and Lille-Flandres station, Gare Lille-Flandres, which primarily serves lower speed trains.
France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. There's a term for their seductive lifestyle, Douce France or Sweet France and you'll find yourself using it often. Douce France taught the world just how sweet life should be.
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