La Vieille Bourse in Lille is one of the city’s most refined historic buildings and it forms a graceful rectangle of richly decorated arcades that enclose a calm inner courtyard. Built in the seventeenth century as a merchants exchange it shows sculpted stone warm brick and elegant reliefs that reflect Lille’s close ties with Flemish artistic traditions. Inside the courtyard the atmosphere shifts from the busy Grand Place to a sheltered world where book sellers chess players and passersby gather in a gentle steady rhythm. The architecture feels both ornate and harmonious and the space remains a living part of the city where history trade and daily life continue to meet.
Part of: France