Palais des Beaux-Arts (Palace of Fine Arts), Lille (must see)

The Palace of Fine Arts occupies a grand late-19th-century palace designed by Édouard Bérard and Fernand Delmas. Its architecture combines classical and Baroque influences, with touches of the Italian Renaissance. Columns, pediments, balustrades, loggias, elaborate moldings, and a steep French-style roof enrich the monumental façade. Domed pavilions rise at either end of the building, reinforcing its formal symmetry.

The museum was established following a decree signed by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, in 1801. Lille was among the French cities selected to receive works confiscated during the Revolution and the military campaigns in occupied European territories. The collection opened to the public in 1809. The present building was inaugurated in 1892 and underwent an extensive renovation between 1991 and 1997 under architects Marc Ibos and Myrto Vitart.

On the lower-ground floor, visitors can examine a remarkable collection of large-scale relief models showing fortified towns in northern France and present-day Belgium. Produced for military and strategic purposes, many depict fortifications designed or improved under Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Louis XIV’s celebrated military engineer. The ground floor contains a gallery devoted to 19th-century French sculpture, with collections of ceramics, medieval art, and Renaissance objects.

The first floor houses the principal painting galleries. These include important Flemish and Dutch works, along with French paintings extending from Jacques-Louis David to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Italian and Spanish masters are also represented.

The museum’s holdings comprise tens of thousands of artworks, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, antiquities, ceramics, and decorative arts. Among the artists represented are Raphael, Donatello, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Goya, El Greco, Delacroix, Rubens, Rodin, Camille Claudel, and Chardin.