Lille was largely derelict from the 1960s onwards, however it was rehabilitated in the 1990s, culminating in the city winning the honor of European Capital of Culture in 2004.
My experience in the city was exceptional; the French people were so kind and hospitable. I took just a day trip to the city, taking the morning bus from Brussels and returning in the same evening but I could have easily stayed for 1 night.
Nonetheless, I will take about some of my favorite places in the city to explore and I will summarize them in a Google Map at the end of this blog post.