landmark
Vieux Lille
Lively old quarter of Flemish brick gables and grand squares, the cultural capital of the French north.
15 km · about 30 min drive
EuropeBelgiumWallonia
Néchin
Wallonia, Belgium · Europe
About Néchin
Néchin is worth a stop: 5 minutes from Lys-lez-Lannoy, 15km from Vieux Lille.
Néchin is in Wallonia, Belgium, with about 2,200 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Lys-lez-Lannoy, about 4 km away.
Néchin (French pronunciation: [neʃɛ̃]) is a town of Wallonia and district of the municipality of Estaimpuis, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium, near the border with France's Hauts-de-France region. It was a municipality until the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1977.
The village of Néchin has becomeRead more
known for the number of French millionaires and billionaires living there. It benefits from its location next to the French border, very close to Lille Métropole metropolitan area, and from Belgium's tax laws which are advantageous to people with high earnings from stock or capital gains, compared to the laws in France. Members of the Mulliez family, owners of the Auchan hypermarket chain and Decathlon sports stores, own a number of properties. The most famous French tax exile in Néchin is actor Gérard Depardieu, who purchased a house there in 2012.
In the early 2010s, Néchin received international media attention when several wealthy French individuals chose to establish residence in the village to benefit from Belgium's tax regime. French newspapers and international media reported that a notable proportion of the residents were French, attracted by lower taxes on wealth and capital gains compared with France. In 2012, French actor Gérard Depardieu bought a property in Néchin and registered as a resident amid changes to French tax laws, a move that drew significant public and political comment in both countries. The presence of affluent expatriates has led to the village sometimes being described in the press as a destination for high-income individuals living near the French border.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Néchin?
Within an hour or so of Néchin: Vieux Lille (15 km), Menin Gate (33 km), In Flanders Fields Museum (34 km), Louvre-Lens (42 km).
Are there any good drives near Néchin?
The nearest famous roads are Koninklijke Baan Coast Road, Chimay Street Circuit and Brouwersdam.
Where is Néchin?
Néchin is in Wallonia, Belgium, about 4 km from Lys-lez-Lannoy.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 2,235
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Belgium
- Region
- Wallonia
- Timezone
- Europe/Brussels
- Coordinates
- 50.6670, 3.2665
Tags
Worth the detour from Néchin
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
landmark
Menin Gate
A vast memorial arch bearing 54,000 names of the missing, where the Last Post sounds every evening at eight.
33 km · about 40 min drive
museum
In Flanders Fields Museum
Set in Ypres' rebuilt Cloth Hall, this museum tells the harrowing story of the WWI Western Front trenches.
34 km · about 40 min drive
museum
Louvre-Lens
A luminous glass-and-steel satellite of the Louvre rising from a former coal-mining town.
42 km · about 50 min drive
landmark
Pairi Daiza
Belgium's most-visited attraction: a 75-hectare animal park built around a former Cistercian abbey in Hainaut, with full-scale Chinese, Indonesian and Middle Kingdom gardens housing giant pandas, gorillas and elephants.
45 km · about 50 min drive
cafe
In de Vrede
The abbey café opposite Saint-Sixtus monastery in Westvleteren: effectively the only place on earth to reliably drink Westvleteren 12, long rated the world's best beer, at the source with a slab of abbey cheese.
46 km · about 55 min drive
landmark
Canadian National Vimy Memorial
Twin soaring pylons crown a WWI battlefield of preserved trenches and craters above the Douai plain.
47 km · about 55 min drive
landmark
Ghent
Vibrant medieval Flemish city with stunning canal-side architecture, the Gravensteen castle, and the famous Ghent Altarpiece.
53 km · about 60 min drive
Driving roads near Néchin
3 named roads, passes and coastal drives within 150km.
- 69 kmKoninklijke Baan Coast RoadThe N34 'Royal Road' hugs nearly the whole Belgian coast, sharing its corridor with the world's longest tram line and passing Belle Epoque De Haan, dunes and beach resorts.
Driving in Belgium
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.74/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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