Summary
In Metropolitan Lille, Villeneuve-d’Ascq serves as a modern town offering numerous premier attractions in the region. It is firmly established within the technology sector, making it a hub for knowledge and innovation among Lille’s residents.
This area features museums dedicated to various subjects, including the remarkable LaM art museum, as well as open-air sites that transport visitors back to the post-war era, medieval times, or even prehistory. Families with young children will find Villeneuve-d’Ascq particularly engaging; however, sports enthusiasts can also attend a Lille OSC match during the football season. The historic center of Lille is just a short distance away, ensuring that the city’s landmarks and vibrant nightlife are always easily accessible.
Let us delve into the top attractions in Villeneuve-d’Ascq:
1. LaM
Officially, this is known as the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary, and Outsider Art.
This distinguished museum showcases every significant artistic movement from the 20th and 21st centuries.
It boasts monumental works by renowned artists such as Picasso, Miró, Kandinsky, Modigliani, Fernand Léger, and Georges Braque.
Additionally, there is a sculpture garden and a dedicated wing for the Art Brut movement from the early 20th century. This section features contributions from self-taught painters and “visionary artists” believed to have communicated with other realms.
2. Parc du Héron
Sitting on a generous 110-hectare natural expanse adjacent to LaM, the Parc du Héron features meadows surrounding a large lake.
This park derives its name from its role as a regional nature reserve for herons, which can easily be spotted along the lake’s shores.
In fact, herons are just one of 235 bird species inhabiting the park, which also includes European orioles, cuckoos, doves, and chickadees.
Moreover, there is an educational farm located here, known as the Ferme du Héron, which showcases donkeys, various raptors, and several flightless birds.
3. Château de Flers
The tourist office in Villeneuve-d’Ascq is situated in this charming Flemish-style mansion, constructed in 1661. It embodies the architectural style characteristic of the region, particularly evident in its crow-stepped gables.
Visitors should take note of the coffered wooden ceilings inside, along with the elegant 18th-century arcade gallery that opens onto the gardens.
Overall, it presents an excellent introduction to your visit to Villeneuve-d’Ascq.
Regular temporary exhibitions focus on the town’s historical narrative, while heritage days offer guided tours throughout the entire building.
4. Musée de Plein Air
This renowned outdoor museum features 23 traditional rural houses that were rescued from demolition and relocated here in the 1990s to create a small village.
These structures originated from various provinces in northern France, including Artois, Picardy, French Flanders, and Hainaut, with the oldest building dating back to the 1500s.
Visitors can immerse themselves in the diverse rural heritage of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region set against a picturesque backdrop of thatched cottages, vegetable patches, animal enclosures, and workshops for various village crafts.
Furthermore, a Flemish brasserie on-site offers traditional stews for visitors to enjoy.
5. Musée du Terroir
This additional museum provides insights into daily life in the past, housed in an 18th-century farmhouse designated as a French historic monument.
It characterizes domestic life after the war, showcasing elements such as a laundry room, schoolroom, forge, dairy, kitchen, and workshops for creating saddles and clogs.
As with other local museums, the Musée du Terroir invites children to participate actively: they can try ironing with cast irons, forge tools, learn carpentry, and make traditional Flemish waffles.
6. Musée des Moulins
Located in the Cousinerie district, the Musée des Moulins features two 18th-century windmills.
One mill was dedicated to oil production while the other was used for flour, both of which were relocated to this site in the 1970s and 1980s for public viewing.
Through modern exhibits, visitors can learn about the technical aspects of milling flour and producing oil.
The exhibits also take you through the history of milling, from Neolithic grinding stones to contemporary wheels and rollers.
Children will discover the various forces utilized in flour production, including early manpower and animal power, and later innovations like water, wind, steam, and gas.
7. Forum Départemental des Sciences
This cultural center, operated by the Nord Department, is distinctive as it focuses primarily on topics related to science and technology rather than art.
The center mainly caters to children, aiming to ignite their curiosity about the world surrounding them.
Additionally, there is a substantial exhibition area reserved exclusively for temporary exhibits, which are refreshed every few months.
These exhibitions are thoughtfully curated and cover a range of subjects, from police forensics to prehistoric mammals and themes of sustainability.
The galleries are complemented by a planetarium, which features three shows on weekends and two on Wednesdays.
8. Asnapio
Adjacent to Parc du Héron lies another educational outdoor museum.
This site is centered on archaeology, featuring reconstructed historical dwellings that range from a Paleolithic tent to a medieval farmstead.
The museum utilizes information gathered from numerous archaeological sites throughout the region, including a Gallo-Roman farm discovered in Villeneuve d’Ascq.
The most prominent structure is the Roman Villa, but each reconstruction offers activities for visitors: children can don armor, sample medieval cuisine, practice archery, and observe demonstrations of traditional crafts.
9. Mémorial Ascq 1944
This museum commemorates a grim chapter toward the conclusion of the German occupation of France.
Following the sabotage of the railway line in Ascq, the SS exercised brutal retribution, resulting in the execution of 86 individuals.
The museum’s exhibits chronicle the village of Ascq’s experiences throughout the 20th century: beginning with World War I, the subsequent reconstruction, World War II, the years of Occupation, and culminating in the events leading to the massacre on April 1, 1944. A memorial, established in 1955, stands near the railway track to honor the victims of the massacre.
10. Lille OSC
The city’s football team, Lille OSC, is based at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq.
This impressive stadium, with a capacity of 50,186, was built in 2012 and hosted six matches during EURO 2016. Lille plays in Ligue 1, France’s top football division, and achieved championship status in 2011. Since then, the team’s performance has fluctuated, but tickets are generally easy to acquire, as matches rarely sell out during the season, which runs from August to May.
In 2017, the team is expected to experience greater unpredictability following the appointment of the dynamic Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa in June.
11. Vieux-Lille
While engaged with the museums in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, one must not overlook Lille’s own outdoor museum located just a short distance away.
The old city center is a charming landscape of quaint shops, vibrant bars, enticing restaurants, and rich architecture that predates this city’s integration into France.
Strolling through the cobblestone streets, visitors can admire Baroque 17th-century mansions adorned with elaborate moldings on their facades and Flemish-inspired gables.
Place aux Oignons is a delightful square enclosed by prominent, elegant buildings that house fine dining establishments, while the Rue des Arts is lined with cultured townhouses exhibiting diverse architectural styles.
12. Palais des Beaux-Arts
Lille’s fine arts museum emerged from the Revolution, established early in the 19th century primarily with artworks and sculptures confiscated in the 1790s.
The loss incurred by the aristocracy benefits the public today, as the museum showcases an impressive collection of art.
Outstanding pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods include works by Donatello, Veronese, Jacob Jordaens, van Dyck, and Rubens.
Later collections include contributions from Delacroix, Seurat, Goya, and Courbet, alongside sculptures by Bourdelle, Claudel, and Houdon.
Additionally, the museum hosts an intriguing collection of “plans-reliefs,” large Flemish 3D military maps from the 17th and 18th centuries.
13. Grand Place
Upon entering this vibrant square in the heart of Lille, one immediately grasps the significance of the location.
At its center stands a monument commemorating the city’s resistance against Austrian forces during a siege in 1792, surrounded by impressive architecture that spans from the 1600s to the 1900s.
However, the highlight warrants close attention to the Vielle Bourse, a remarkable 17th-century Mannerist structure featuring a central courtyard.
Historically, this served as Lille’s stock exchange, and nearly 400 years later, it now hosts book stalls and lively chess competitions.
14. Other Ideas
In the Metropolitan Lille area, one must be organized to experience all the exceptional attractions available.
The city offers a vast array of cultural venues and dining options, while also providing family activities and unique experiences within the conurbation.
Cycling enthusiasts will be familiar with the legendary Paris-Roubaix race that takes place every mid-April, often referred to as the “Hell of the North.”
Roubaix is also the site of La Piscine, a stunning museum developed from a converted Art Deco swimming pool.
Back in Lille, the zoo features numerous exotic animals and adheres to humane standards while offering free admission.
Furthermore, if one appreciates industrial brick architecture, numerous listed former factories throughout the conurbation have been repurposed into attractions, such as the Maison Folie Wazemmes and the Manufacture des Flandres.
15. Food and Drink
Lille is home to several Michelin-starred restaurants; however, dining well in this region does not necessitate exorbitant expenditure.
The local cuisine closely resembles that of Belgium, with moules-frites being a hallmark dish—moules typically served in a white wine and shallot reduction accompanied by French fries.
In this area, beer is the beverage of choice, available in various styles such as dark, white, amber, or blonde, either on tap or bottled.
Interestingly, beer is also incorporated into numerous dishes, including the delectable beef stew carbonnade flamande, typically served alongside fries, or Le Welsh, the local interpretation of Welsh rarebit.
