Hauts-de-France, France

State guide with cities, regions, and key information.

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Introduction
Hauts-de-France is France's northernmost region, reaching from the Channel coast to the Belgian border — a region of Flemish cities, chalk-cliff seashores, towering Gothic cathedrals and great forests, long overlooked by visitors and all the more rewarding for it. For travellers it means Lille, the warm-hearted Flemish capital of the north; the Opal Coast with Boulogne's giant Nausicaá aquarium and the cliffs of the Two Capes; the colossal Gothic cathedral of Amiens and the Flemish squares of Arras; and, in the green south, the château, stables and forest of Chantilly within easy reach of Paris.

Discover Hauts-de-France

Lille, the capital of the north, is a warm and sociable city where France meets Flanders. Its heart is the Grand'Place (officially Place du Général-de-Gaulle), ringed by ornate Flemish façades and overlooked by the gilded Vieille Bourse, a seventeenth-century merchants' exchange whose courtyard fills with booksellers and chess players. Around it, Vieux Lille is a beautifully restored quarter of cobbled lanes, brick-and-stone gabled houses, smart boutiques and cosy estaminets serving Flemish classics — carbonade, potjevleesch, maroilles cheese and northern beer. The Palais des Beaux-Arts holds one of the richest art collections in France outside the Louvre, and the city's student energy gives it a lively café and music scene. Each September, the Braderie de Lille turns the whole city into Europe's largest flea market, with mountains of moules-frites the traditional reward. Nearby, the spectacular Art Deco swimming pool turned art museum, La Piscine in Roubaix, and the Louvre-Lens — an outpost of the Paris museum in a former mining town — make rewarding day trips, as does a hop across the border into Belgium.

Travel Types

Lille & French Flanders

The Grand'Place and Vieille Bourse, the brick-gabled lanes of Vieux Lille, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Flemish food and beer, and the great September Braderie.

The Opal Coast

Boulogne-sur-Mer and the Nausicaá aquarium, the chalk cliffs of Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez, the resort of Le Touquet and the seals and birds of the Baie de Somme.

Amiens, Arras & the Gothic North

Amiens' colossal cathedral and floating gardens, the Flemish-Baroque squares and belfry of Arras, the hilltop cathedral of Laon and the Somme remembrance trail.

Chantilly & the Green Oise

The Château de Chantilly, its art collection and Great Stables, the imperial Compiègne, medieval Senlis, the great forests and the Parc Astérix — all near Paris.

Frequently asked questions

Yes — Lille is one of France's warmest and most underrated cities, and a day or two does it justice. Take in the Grand'Place and the Vieille Bourse, wander the cobbled streets of Vieux Lille, visit the Palais des Beaux-Arts (one of France's great art museums), and eat Flemish — carbonade and maroilles cheese washed down with northern beer in an estaminet. Lille is just an hour from Paris, London and Brussels by high-speed train, making it an easy short break, and the September Braderie (Europe's largest flea market) is a spectacle in itself.

The Côte d'Opale runs along the Channel and centres on Boulogne-sur-Mer, home to Nausicaá, the largest aquarium in Europe, and a walled medieval upper town. Just along the coast, the chalk headlands of Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez offer bracing clifftop walks with England visible across the Channel, the resort of Le Touquet has a long beach and pine-backed elegance, and the vast Baie de Somme draws seals and migrating birds. It is an easy region to reach from the Channel ports and a fine stop coming to or from Britain.

Both — the Château de Chantilly sits in the Oise, the southern part of Hauts-de-France, but it is only about 25 minutes from Paris by train, so it is most often visited as a day trip from the capital. Its highlights are the Condé Museum (the finest old-master collection in France after the Louvre), the Great Stables and their equestrian shows, the formal gardens, and the famous Chantilly cream. The surrounding forests and the nearby imperial château of Compiègne and medieval Senlis make a rewarding green escape from the city.

Cities in Hauts-de-France

1 city with detailed travel information

Boulogne-sur-Mer