Capital/préfecture: Lille (largest city and center of the metropolitan region, fourth-largest urban area in France after Paris, Lyon, and Marseille).
Other major cities: Dunkirk, Valenciennes, Douai, Cambrai, Maubeuge.
History & culture: Strong Flemish character (formerly part of the County of Flanders), typical brick architecture, beer culture, Dunkirk Carnival, endives (chicory), moules-frites, and typical estaminets. Economy & Landscape: Formerly heavily industrialized (coal mines, textiles – now with many slag heaps as a reminder), today a mix of services (Lille as a business center and Eurostar/TGV hub), the port of Dunkirk, intensive agriculture (potatoes, sugar beets, chicory), and coastal areas (beach resorts such as Bray-Dunes).
Special Features: The longest department in metropolitan France (184 km from northwest to southeast), highly urbanized (especially around Lille), but also quiet rural areas such as the Monts de Flandre and the Avesnois (more hilly and green).
In short: a densely populated, dynamic, historically Flemish-oriented area with a mix of a large city (Lille), industrial past, port, coast, and countryside, right on the border with Belgium and well-connected to Great Britain via the Channel Tunnel and Eurostar.
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