The Palais des Beaux Arts

The Palais des Beaux Arts, Lille's Fine Arts Museum, is the second-ranked French museum after the Louvre. It is located two steps away from the pedestrian-only streets in a superb 19th-century building. The museum houses prestigious collections of European paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and others, as well as milestones of French art such by David, Delacroix and Courbet. It also boasts an important collection of drawings (40 of them by Raphael) and cabinets of 17th- and 18th-century ceramics from France, Holland and Italy. The Department of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was totally restructured to include works that had been restored or taken out of reserve. A whole gallery is now devoted to 19th-century French sculpture, giving a panorama of the period from Houdon to Bourdelles, with works by Pradier, Carpeaux, Carrier Belleuse, Bartholdi, David d'Angers, Camille Claudel and Rodin. The museum is open every day except Tuesday.

Place de la Republique

Location: Lille

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