landmark
Vieux Lille
Lively old quarter of Flemish brick gables and grand squares, the cultural capital of the French north.
8 km · about 15 min drive
EuropeFranceHauts-de-France
Villeneuve-d'Ascq
Hauts-de-France, France · Europe
About Villeneuve-d'Ascq
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is worth a stop: 5 minutes from Gruson, 8km from Vieux Lille.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is in Hauts-de-France, France, with about 62,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Gruson, about 4 km away.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq (French pronunciation: [vilnœvdask]; Picard: Neuvile-Ask) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Lille metropolitan area (Métropole Européenne de Lille) and the largest in area (27.46 km2)Read more
after the city of Lille itself. It is also one of the main cities of the Hauts-de-France region.
Built up owing to the merger between the former communes of Ascq, Annappes and Flers-lez-Lille, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a new town and the cradle of the first automatic metro system in the world (VAL).
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is nicknamed the 'green technopole' thanks to the implantation of many researchers, including two campuses of the University of Lille and many graduate engineering schools, and companies in a pleasant living environment. Owing to its activity centres, its Haute Borne European scientific park and two shopping malls, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is one of the main economic spots of the Hauts-de-France region; multinational corporations such as Bonduelle, Cofidis and Decathlon have their head office there.
Outside its academic, scientific and business facilities, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is known for its sporting events, boasting two stadiums (Stade Pierre-Mauroy and Stadium Lille Métropole) and some top division sports teams, its museums, e.g. the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art), its green spaces, and its facilities for disabled people.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Villeneuve-d'Ascq?
Within an hour or so of Villeneuve-d'Ascq: Vieux Lille (8 km), Louvre-Lens (33 km), In Flanders Fields Museum (33 km), Menin Gate (33 km).
Are there any good drives near Villeneuve-d'Ascq?
The nearest famous roads are Koninklijke Baan Coast Road, Chimay Street Circuit and Brouwersdam.
Where is Villeneuve-d'Ascq?
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is in Hauts-de-France, France, about 4 km from Gruson.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 62,400
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- France
- Region
- Hauts-de-France
- Timezone
- Europe/Paris
- Coordinates
- 50.6167, 3.1666
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in France
Carrying a warning triangle and hi-vis vest in your vehicle is mandatory. Motorway emergency phones connect to official breakdown services only.
Full driving guide for FranceTags
Worth the detour from Villeneuve-d'Ascq
7 notable places within an hour's drive.
museum
Louvre-Lens
A luminous glass-and-steel satellite of the Louvre rising from a former coal-mining town.
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.
33 km · about 40 min 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
landmark
Canadian National Vimy Memorial
Twin soaring pylons crown a WWI battlefield of preserved trenches and craters above the Douai plain.
38 km · about 45 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.
44 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.
51 km · about 60 min drive
Driving roads near Villeneuve-d'Ascq
3 named roads, passes and coastal drives within 150km.
- 74 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 France
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.85/litre
- Motorway tolls
- ~€10.00/100km
When to drive here
April to October
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