Antwerpen

The Belgian border lies about 20kms from Lille. There are regular direct trains from Lille to a number of Belgian cities including the diamond capital of the world. Since Michelle and I are freshly engaged and we wanted to pick out a ring together we made a day trip, crossing Belgium in an hour-and-a-half train ride to visit Antwerp.
We found the perfect ring after half an hour (much sooner than expected) and wandered through the quaint streets and squares of Antwerp while waiting for it to be sized. Antwerp is the second largest city in Belgium but very navigable and with everything to offer - from French to Dutch, from expensive to cheap, from classy to dodgy - and of course the Belgium's trademark facades and gables.
We had a wonderful day, but numerous trips back and forth from the diamond area to the town centre for resizing (it still wasn't right after the first sizing) left us with there impression there is much more to see and do in Antwerp.
Not to worry. Looks like we're headed back in April in search of bands...