The focal point of the city is the Grand' Place (officially known as place du Général-de-Gaulle and often referred to as the place de la Déesse), which marks the southern boundary of the old quarter, Vieux Lille. To the south is the central pedestrianized shopping area which extends along rue de Béthune as far as the adjacent squares of place Béthune and place de la République. On Saturdays, especially, the area is so jammed with shoppers that you can hardly move, and crowded outdoor cafés add to the street life. The major festival of the year, the Grande Braderie, takes place over the first weekend of September, when a big street parade and vast flea market fill the streets of the old town by day, and the evenings see a moules-frites frenzy in all the restaurants, with empty mussel shells piled up in the streets.
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