Flemish culture takes hold in France's most northern tip. This is a landscape dotted with windmills and canals as opposed to the normal vineyards. Lille is the focal point with great nightlife, shops, opera, modern art museum, restaurants and a distinctly euro-cosmopolitan feel.
The 'Flandre-Cote d'Opale' is a mecca for windsurfers and other water sports with long stretches of fine, sandy beaches.
The Avesnois National Park is also home to fortified towns such as Avesnes-sur-Helpe and Maubeuge and the Gallo-Roman town of Bavay.
