Roubaix is a town in the Nord department, within the European Metropolis of Lille, on the Belgian border, and a sub-prefecture of the department. Its history is that of a major centre of the textile industry, which made its wealth and its rapid growth in the nineteenth century, before the industrial changes that marked the town. It keeps a dense heritage from that period, from the factories to the brick workers' houses.
The town centre is organised around the Grand-Place, the town hall and the Saint-Martin church, and is home to La Piscine, an art and industry museum housed in a former art deco swimming pool, as well as La Condition Publique. The parc Barbieux, nicknamed the beautiful garden, spreads its tree-lined walks across the south of the town. Around them, the districts of workers' houses, such as le Pile, l'Alma, l'Épeule or les Hauts-Champs, form the working-class fabric of the town.
The town is served by the line 2 metro, at the Grand-Place, Épeule-Montesquieu and Eurotéléport stations, by Roubaix railway station and by the Roubaix canal. The property market carries the mark of that: the residential sector of Barbieux and the south of the town are gaining in value, while the districts of workers' houses to the east and the west remain markedly more affordable, driven by first-time buying and buy-to-let investment.
