Day Three - with a midday Eurostar train to catch back to London, I wanted to finish my trip with a walk around Le Vieux-Lille, old Lille, the Lille that Vauban would have seen (but please don't take that too literally).
There were still two gates I had not seen. Here is the first, the Porte de Gand.
 |
| The external face of Porte de Gand |
 |
| The city's Coat of Arms between the portcullis levers |
 |
| The city side |
 |
| Vauban added defences to the exterior |
 |
| I wonder how he got up there - a City council workman trimming the grass |
 |
| The nice woman in the Tourism Office told me all of the walls had been demolished |
Not far away is the other gate, Porte de Roubaix.
 |
| Not as well kept as Porte de Gand |
 |
| Refurbishments underway |
Both the gates were built during 1620 - 1625 when Lille was under Spanish control. Originally, both had one centrally located archway and gate. The two outer arches on both gates were added in 1875 to allow the City's new tramway to pass through.
After this, back to the hotel, collect my luggage, pay my bill and catch the train back to London St. Pancras station. Then over the road to Kings Cross station for the train back to York.
Those old walls would be an ornament to any city. The photo with the council workmen gives a good idea of scale. Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteLille looks a very inviting place for a visit. Might have to offer the missus a day trip ;-)