Place du Théâtre, Square in Lille, Hauts-de-France, France

Place du Théâtre is a public square in the heart of Lille, framed by some of the city's most recognizable buildings. On one side stands the neo-Flemish facade of the Palais de la Bourse with its tall belfry, while the 17th-century Vieille Bourse and the Opera face it from the other side.

Until the theater was built in 1785, this space was the Petite Place, open to the Grand'Place; the two were separated only by wooden houses where the rues des Trois-Couronnes and des Sept-Agaches now run. A public weighbridge stood at its edge from 1524, and the halle échevinale, seat of the municipal magistrate, was rebuilt there in 1585 with a belfry later destroyed. The theater that gave the square its name burned in 1903; an opera house was built nearby, set back to enlarge the square.

The square's name comes from the theatre that stood here until a fire destroyed it in 1903; the opera house built nearby does not face the square directly. The square lies between Vieux-Lille and the rue Faidherbe area, and its open paved surface is used for passing through and gathering.

The square is open at all times and free to walk through, and it is easily reached on foot from the Lille-Flandres and Rihour train stations. In the evening, the facades of the surrounding buildings are lit up, making a stroll through the area particularly rewarding at that hour.

The square's name refers to a theatre that no longer exists: it stood facing the mouth of rue Faidherbe from 1785 until a fire destroyed it in 1903. Archaeological digs were carried out in its ruins the following year, and the Opéra was then built slightly set back, which allowed the square itself to be enlarged.