Esplanade du Champ de Mars Lille

The Esplanade du Champ de Mars is a vast, paved expanse squeezed between the Deûle River and the star-shaped walls of the Citadel of Lille. Vauban designed the site in the late seventeenth century to provide a clear line of fire for his fortress cannons, keeping the ground empty of trees or buildings. In the late eighteen hundreds, the military finally allowed the city to pave the area, and it became a permanent home for traveling circuses and seasonal funfairs.