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.
Overview
Hauts-de-France, formed in 2016 from Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy, is the northern gateway to the country — the first region most travellers cross coming from Britain or Belgium, and one that rewards a proper stop. Its capital, Lille, is a warm, lively city with a strong Flemish character: the grand Grand'Place and the ornate Vieille Bourse, the cobbled streets and brick-gabled houses of Vieux Lille, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts, one of the largest art museums in France outside Paris. Each September the city throws the Braderie de Lille, Europe's largest flea market, and its estaminets serve hearty Flemish food and northern beer year-round. The coast — the Côte d'Opale — runs from the Belgian border to the Baie de Somme: Boulogne-sur-Mer, a major fishing port crowned by a walled old town and home to Nausicaá, the largest aquarium in Europe; the dramatic chalk headlands of Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez, with England visible across the Channel; the elegant resort of Le Touquet; and the vast Baie de Somme, where seals bask and migrating birds gather. Inland rise some of France's greatest Gothic monuments: Amiens has the largest Gothic cathedral in the country, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, alongside the floating market gardens of the hortillonnages and the house of Jules Verne; Arras dazzles with two Flemish-Baroque squares and a UNESCO-listed belfry; and Laon crowns a ridge with its hilltop cathedral. This is also a landscape of memory — the chalk downs of the Somme hold the moving memorials and cemeteries of the 1916 battles. In the green south, the Oise brings the Château de Chantilly with its art collection and Great Stables, the imperial Château de Compiègne, medieval Senlis and the great forests, all within an hour of Paris. Lille is just an hour from Paris (and from London and Brussels) by high-speed train, making the whole region remarkably easy to reach.
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.
Ways to Experience This Destination
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.
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' colossal cathedral and floating gardens, the Flemish-Baroque squares and belfry of Arras, the hilltop cathedral of Laon and the Somme remembrance trail.
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
Tourism & destination guides
Official regional tourism site — Lille, the Opal Coast, the Gothic cathedral cities, the Somme, Chantilly and the Oise, with itineraries, events and accommodation across the region.
Official Lille destination site — the Grand'Place and Vieux Lille, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, the Braderie, guided tours and the Lille City Pass.
Cities in Hauts-de-France
Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.