France Nord-Pas-De-Calais

Lille is situated on the Deule River, near France's border with Belgium. Lille features an array of architectural styles with various amounts of Flemish influence, including the use of brown and red brick. In addition, many residential neighborhoods, especially in Greater Lille, consist of attached 2–3 story houses aligned in a row, with narrow gardens in the back. These architectural attributes, many uncommon in France, help make Lille a transition in France to neighboring Belgium, as well as nearby Netherlands and England, where the presence of brick, as well as row houses or the terraced house is much more prominent.

Calais is a town and major ferry port in northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais. Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34km wide here, and is the closest French town to England. The White Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. The old part of the town, Calais proper (known as Calais-Nord), is situated on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbors. The modern part of the town, St-Pierre, lies to the south and south-east. In the center of the old town is the Place d'Armes, in which stands the Tour du Guet, or watch-tower. Today, Calais is visited by more than 10 million tourists annually.