Opera and Belfry

Do take your time as you enter this elegant square, which marks the boundary between old Lille and the central districts. Grab a coffee and sit back, there are so many things to observe and details to study in the buildings surrounding you. First of all, there’s the old stock exchange, separating us from the Grand-Place, to which it used to be linked. It’s the most beautiful building in the city! Facing it, is the Opera, inaugurated in 1913, with its beautiful Parisian style neoclassical facade. Next door, the belfry of the Lille Chamber of Commerce and Industry dominates the area. The reason why it blends so well with the Opera is that they were both born from the imagination of Louis Marie Cordonnier, a famous architect from northern France. Feel free to enter the magnificent Hall of Honour of the Chamber of Commerce to admire its incredible glass dome, 178 metres high. You can’t visit the bell tower, but its bells ring every hour to the sound of the Quinquin lullaby, a popular song from Lille. Opposite the belfry, you can admire the Beauregard row, a famous group of 17th century bourgeois houses, built side by side. If you look closely, you’ll see little angels on the facades. They subtly demarcate the houses, depending on whether they are back-to-back or face to face. Another interesting detail is the cannonballs that you can see embedded in the facade of the Morel House. They remind us of Lille’s resistance to the Prussian invasion. The city suffered extensive destruction due to an endless cannonball bombardment. It is said to have lasted 185 hoursand also that the cannonballs were brought to incandescence for the occasion, causing terrible fires in their path.. Now, look closely at the facade, you’ll see a canon different from the others, painted , evocative of another rather mischievous shape and delivering a totally different message… Can you guess it ? Make love, not war !