The best road cycling routes around Marquette-Lez-Lille

asphalt cycle path.

We also visited the cathedral and the Market Place, a very pleasant area with restaurants.

The Vauban Garden was created in the mid-19th century, in 1865. At that time, the city of Lille was expanding, and this was an opportunity for the city to create new green spaces, places for walking where the people of Lille could enjoy nature. In this garden, the bourgeoisie liked to show off, and the workers, from the industrial districts, enjoyed breathing the fresh air, far from the factories. First called the Empress Eugenie Park, the Vauban Garden took its current name in 1870. It became a listed site in 1991. By following the route opposite, take the garden's curving paths, cross its rolling lawns, and discover this romantic place inspired by English gardens. For the creation of this public garden, the City of Lille commissioned the Chief Gardener of Paris. He created and landscaped numerous gardens for the capital, such as the Luxembourg Gardens and the Buttes-Chaumont Park. This highly renowned landscape gardener has worked for other cities in France: Roubaix (Barbieux Park), Marseille, Cambrai, and abroad: Italy, Austria, and Egypt. At the bottom of the garden lies a cave from which a waterfall flows, feeding the ponds. Like the river, this cave is not natural: it was built of reinforced concrete and stone rubble. Over time, the accumulation of limestone dissolved in the water and trapped by plants (mosses) has revealed new rock, forming large blocks on the sides of the cave.

The Palais Rameau was built in 1878 thanks to the bequest of Charles Rameau, President of the Lille Horticultural Society. It was originally intended for flower and fruit exhibitions, as well as for music and the arts. The project was entrusted to Lille architects Auguste Mourcou and Henri Contamine. Its architecture, based on the principle of a horticultural greenhouse, blends regional and oriental influences. Over time, it had lost its original purpose, serving notably as an examination center from 1930 to 1960. The Palais Rameau underwent a major renovation to see the birth of an innovative project, combining science, education, and experimentation, focused on urban agriculture. This project is the result of a partnership between the City of Lille, which owns the building, and Junia, the engineering school, which wanted to develop a demonstration project for the "Agriculture and Food of Tomorrow" there. The goal is to offer students, as well as professors and researchers, and residents an ecosystem conducive to discovering and reinventing the agriculture and food of tomorrow. The ambition of this space is to make it the first European demonstration site for urban agriculture and food. Ultimately, 3,600m² of space dedicated to the agriculture of tomorrow will be open, as well as 5,500m² of outdoor spaces.

The Church of the Sacred Heart is a church located at the intersection of Rue Nationale and Rue Solférino, in the Lille-Centre district of Lille. Built during the last decades of the 19th century, it contains a set of eleven stained-glass windows, listed as a historic monument since 1983. The building was constructed following a vow made by the Ladies of the Association of the Children of Mary of the Sacred Heart (in the Chapel of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, Rue Royale) on October 7, 1870, to protect Lille from Prussian invasion. About ten years later, when the parish church was already open for worship, a second vow was made by the town's ladies concerning the construction of a chapel dedicated to the Sacred Heart (the Vow Chapel, an apsidal chapel located behind the choir) and intended to become a special place of contemplation within the church itself. The church was built by the architect Jules Batigny between 1875 and 1878 and again between 1895 and 1898. The apsidal chapels were added during the second half of the 1880s. When the church was consecrated on June 20, 1902, the bell tower was not yet completed. On this occasion, Marie-Alphonse Sonnois, Archbishop of Cambrai (at that time, Lille did not yet have its own diocese and was therefore incorporated into that of Cambrai), consecrated the city of Lille to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On June 12, 1910, a major congress of the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart was held, presided over by Monsignor François-Marie-Joseph Delamaire (coadjutor bishop). The 75-meter-high bell tower was not completed until 1928 by the architect Charles Sarazin. Built of reinforced concrete, it was unable to withstand the elements and had to be completely restored from 2005 to 2008. The bell tower houses a carillon of several bells that has been silent for several years... Only seven stained-glass windows have been restored. The building is still awaiting the restoration of the other five, which are in poor condition. In April 2018, the church was closed to worship by municipal decree for six months. The reason was the presence of dry rot.

In front of the tourist information office in the heart of Mesen stands an impressive bronze statue commemorating an exceptional moment of humanity during the First World War: the Christmas Truce of 1914. The statue, designed by British artist Andrew Edwards, depicts a British and a German soldier shaking hands, with a football at their feet. It symbolizes the spontaneous ceasefire on Christmas Day, when soldiers from both sides left their trenches, sang Christmas carols together, exchanged gifts, and even played a game of football in no man's land. After a tour through Europe – with stops at Wembley Stadium and Ypres, among others – the statue found its permanent home in Mesen in 2015, where the Christmas Truce actually took place. It is 3.7 meters long and 2.5 meters high, and radiates a powerful message of peace, unity, and hope.

Historic Building

quiet roads