Situated in France’s northern Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and close to the Belgian border, Lille is a small and cosy city despite being France's fourth-largest metropolitan area. Tourists descend on Lille in the summer mainly for its quaint old town, which has a laid-back feel and a distinct classical Flemish architectural heritage.

It’s all about the old town (Vieux Lille) in Lille; a hodgepodge of classical French and Flemish buildings and a bustling, yet relaxing atmosphere. Grand Place, which displays the best of the old town and offers excellent shopping and people-watching, is the focus of Vieux Lille.

Major attractions of note include the brilliant Museum of Fine Arts and the Modern Arts Museum; Vieille Bourse (the Old Stock Exchange); the impressive Citadelle, just outside the old town; and the modern-looking cathedral.

There are plenty of things for kids to do in Lille to boot, of which the Citadelle has a park and zoo nearby, while the Lille City Pass includes free entry to many of these attractions as well as unlimited public transport.

Lille is a university town and as such it has many chilled cafés, bars, nightclubs and eateries. The atmosphere is thus electric, especially in the town centre and towards rue Gambetta. Festival wise, Lille puts on La Braderie, one of Europe’s heartiest celebrations where anyone and everyone can sell their wares on the streets.

Attractions nearby include the Mosaïc Le Jardin des Cultures in Houplin-Ancoisne and the busy Le Touquet beach resort just to the west of town. Although the water is often cold here, the beach makes an excellent daytrip from Lille in the summer months.

On the accommodation front, Lille has a good selection of hotels in all categories. Vieux Lille (the old town) is by far the best place to be based, offering the best choice of hotels. Another busy area is just to the southeast at the main train station, Gare de Lille Flandres, while rue Solférino to the southwest of town also has good options.

Make sure you book hotels well ahead of time, as Lille gets busy from May to September. Even during the slow winter season hotels tend to fill up at weekends so booking ahead is recommended. The easiest way to do this and to save money is to book Lille hotels online.

Lille is conveniently situated on the London to Brussels Eurostar route, adding options for those visiting from the UK. In addition, Calais is just to the west, and the city has an international airport to boot. Most people fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, however, and then take a short connecting flight, bus or train to Lille.

It can get quite warm in Lille in the summer, with the city experiencing similar weather to Brussels, Belgium and London, England and never seeing very bad weather at any time of year. The best time to be here is around June - before the European school summer holidays when Lille gets busy.

The maritime climate of Lille is not very impressive in the winter from November to March, with freezing nights and grey days. This is the off-peak season and the best time to pick up cheap hotels deals.