Gand street

The only street with the hint of a slope in this rather flat town, the Gand street is a lively thoroughfare lined with bars and restaurants. There are a number of listed buildings here. It leads to the old gate of Gand, one of the few remaining gates of the old Spanish city walls. Walk up the street to discover this majestic remnant of the golden age of the Spanish Netherlands. Listed historical monument, it has also been home to a gourmet restaurant since 1997. If you don’t go all the way to the end to see the famous door, turn left into rue des Célestines and left again into rue à Claques. Yes, of course, that’s another peculiarity of Lille. Here, claques, which usually means “a slap in someone’s face” has nothing to do with it. The word comes from the old local dialect and is actually a pejorative term used to refer to a girl that is good for nothing and with loose morals. Why a street was named like this remains an unsolved mystery!”