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Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

Saint-Martin-sur-Écaillon in Nord-Pas-de-CalaisSaint-Martin-sur-Écaillon in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Martin_sur_ecaillon.JPG
Author: Pichasso
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Nord-Pas-de-Calais is the northernmost region of metropolitan France. It covers 12,414 sq km (4,793.1 sq mi) and has a population of 4 million people. It is composed of two departments namely Nord and Pas-de-Calais. These are places which once belonged to southern Netherlands and were gradually absorbed into France between 1477 and 1678.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais is in the Central European Time Zone, which is an hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+1), and two hours ahead during Daylight Saving Time in summer. It was created out of the historical provinces of Artois, Boulonnais, Calaisis, Cambraisis, French Flanders, French Hainaut and portions of northern Picardy.

Church of Neuville-en-AvesnoisChurch of Neuville-en-Avesnois
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neuville_en_avesnois_church.jpg
Author: Hektor
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The administrative center and largest city in Nord-Pas-de-Calais is the city of Lille. The namesake city of Calais is the second largest in the region. Due to the proximity with Great Britain, on clear days you can actually see the White Cliffs of Dover from Calais in France.

The Nord-Pas-de-Calais region was heavily industrialized in the 19th century, with coal mines, steel mills and textile factories. These industries went into decline in the early 20th century, causing the region to lose jobs which was only reversed with investments pouring in from the government and the European Union. The choice of Lille as the terminus of the Channel Tunnel was considerably boosted tourism in the region. The port towns of Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne have also benefited from the ferry services linking them to cities in neighboring countries.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer, Nord-Pas de CalaisCathédrale Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer, Nord-Pas de Calais
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cath%C3%A9drale_Notre-Dame_de_Saint-Omer5.JPG
Author: Welleschik
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Visiting Nord-Pas-de-Calais

You can reach Lille by train from Paris, Brussels and London, and from Lille, continue to other towns in the region.

Cities and communes in Nord-Pas-de-Calais

  1. Lille - capital

  2. Arras

  3. Boulogne

  4. Calais

  5. Cambrai

  6. Douai

  7. Dunkirk

  8. Hardelot

  9. Lens

  10. Le Touquet

  11. Liévin

  12. Marcq-en-Barœul

  13. Maubeuge

  14. Montreuil-sur-Mer

  15. Roubaix

  16. Saint-Omer

  17. Thelus

  18. Tourcoing

  19. Valenciennes

  20. Villeneuve d'Ascq

  21. Wattrelos

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About this website



Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.
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