During 2004, when Lille was the European City of Culture, nine million visitors descended on this corner of far northern France. Lille, which combines Parisian culture with Flemish Baroque, is 20 kilo-metres from the Belgian border, less than 40 minutes from Brussels, and less than two hours from London via Eurostar.

The city of Lille is the regional capital of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, an area also known as French Flanders. It is part of an urban community of 87 towns, with more than one million inhabitants overall – Lille itself has a population of 220,000 people. Lille is mentioned in documents dating from 1066 and the city's glory days were in the 14th and 15th centuries when it was one of the capitals of the Burgundy states. The industrial age hit the city in the 19th century and the old beauty was eclipsed by the smog of textile factories and breweries.

However, the decline of these industries in the 1950s proved a turning point, and Lille reinvigorated itself with banking, insurance and universities. It is now the third-ranking financial city in France. "Far from its old reputation of being tarnished by the fume of factories, it is now a dynamic and gravitational capital", says Romain Muller, of EU Property Portfolio (EUPP). One of the most significant recent changes to Lille was the arrival of the Eurostar, which has hugely increased the number of visitors to the region. Euralille is a business centre covering over 70 hectares, built up around the Eurostar terminal between 1991 and 1995. As well as being a vast shopping centre, it is the home of business conferences and exhibitions.

Lille's educational focus means that there is a large young population, with 100,000 in higher education alone; and nowadays, the Maison Folie – the former textile factories and breweries – have been shaped into a centre for arts, theatre and activities. Scientific and medical research is one of the city's most thriving industries and it is the second-ranking medical research centre after Lyon, with the National Health and Medical Research Institute, the world famous Pasteur Institute.

On the property front, Lille is seen as a good place to invest because there is a large scope for rental, either from the city's student population, or  business people who commute to Paris or Brussels, or work in Lille itself. "We see Lille purely as a property investment proposition", says Farida Char of EUPP. "People do not tend to buy property in Lille for holiday purposes, but it is good for investment due to the transport access and the fact that it is on a crossroads in northern Europe." There has been a revival of the Lille property market since 1999 with increases of almost ten per cent per annum over the last five years. In 2004, the price per square metre across Lille reached 1,700 euros. "More than half the property purchases are made for investment", says Muller, "and the shortage of property available for rental continues to fuel the rise".

Currently, resale property in Lille is available from between 950 and 1,300 euros per square metre. But there is also another option as new build leasebacks are becoming a trend. "A studio property in central Lille, measuring 19.14 square metres, can be bought for 69,850 euros (excluding VAT), and it will realise a rental return of 5.93 per cent", says Sharon Hill of Your French Property. "A one-bedroom apartment measuring 29.56 square metres, can be purchased for 120,102 euros, and this will provide a rental return of 5.78 per cent". "In 2002 we were selling 90 apartments per month and during the first six months of 2004, this number had risen to 174 per month. The price per square metre is now 2,150 euros – whereas in 2003 it was 2,000 euros", adds Hill.

Lille is keen to move itself into the 21st century with cutting-edge scientific research, a growing business community and a transport system to meet its aspirations. It seems like the time is right to make a Lille deal.

Read the latest French Property Bulletin ezine FREE

Search for French property

Read articles about other areas of France:
North and West France remain popular
In search of Provence property

Article published in August 2007