Lille

Lille is a medium-sized city in the Nord-Pas De Calais region of northern France with a very large student population.

Get in

By Plane

Lille has a small airport, called "Lille-Lesquin". International connections include flights from Munich in Germany, and other European cities. Most international travellers will however want to book a flight to Paris and then continue to Lille via train.

By Train

Lille lies on the Brussels-Paris-London connection. TGV and Eurostar trains stop here. The voyage to Brussels takes about 40 minutes, to Paris about an hour, and to London about an hour and 40 minutes.

Get around

By subway

Lille has two subway lines that connect the center of the city with several suburbs. It also has many bus lines that go throughout the city and two lines of cable trains that go to Roubaix and Tourcoing which are two other important cities of the region.

• Transpole Public transportation in Lille, French Only.

See

Lille has a very nice city center, excellently suited for a city trip. Most of the sights can be combined in a walking tour.

• Must see
• *La Vieille Bourse (1653). Right between two picturesque squares, Place du Général-de-Gaulle and Place du Théâtre, this former produce market still plays a central part in the life of the city. You may find booksellers and flower markets in the inner court.
• *The main square, Place du Général-de-Gaulle, better known as the "Grand'place", has many lovely historical houses, like La Voix du Nord, the local newspaper building, and a fountain with the statue of a goddess, "la Grande Déesse" (1843).
• *Place Rihour, surrounded by restaurants, houses the tourist information center inside its main attraction, the Palais Rihour(1453).
• *The town hall is worth a look and can be combined nicely with a visit to the Porte de Paris (1692).
• *The Opera (1923) and the Chamber of Commerce (1921) are located close together and offer magnificent sights, especially when lit-up at night.
• *Take a stroll through the old quarter of the city, known as Vieux Lille, and enjoy the quiet, cobble-stone streets, the variety of stylish designer shops, gourmet restaurants, and the modern Cathédrale Notre Dame de la Treille. More notable streets like Rue de la Monnaie and Rue Esquermoise are definitely worth the trip.
• *A bit farther from the city center is la Citadelle, an interesting example of defensive military architecture, built by Vauban, a famous French military architect, under the reign of Louis the Sixteenth.
• Museums
• *Musée des Beaux-Arts, a famed museum covering European art from 16th - 20th century.
• *Museum of Natural History, a large collection of stuffed mammals, insects, fossils, etc.
• *Musée de l'hospice Comtesse, a former hospital now presenting art from a rather alternative angle.
• Other
• *The subway in the long-distance train station Lille Europe is an attraction on its own. In the large stairway's hall, the walls are entirely covered with a big mural.

Do

• The open market, Marché de Wazemmes, is open every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday morning, but the busiest day is definitely Sunday. Vendors sell everything from fresh fruits and vegetables, books and stationery, suitcases and shoes, even perfume and undergarments! Be sure to pick up a bag of fresh clementines, a bright bouquet of fresh-cut flowers, some rotisserie chicken and roast potatoes for lunch, and a glass of beer at one of many little pubs surrounding the market.

Buy

• Delicious stuffed waffles to be enjoyed at Meert (probably the most beautiful "patisserie" in France) on the Rue Esquermoise right next to the Grand-Place (place du Général de Gaulle) (Station: Rihour on Line 1), as well as at the new location at the Piscine (Museum of Arts and Industry) of Roubaix (Station : Gare Jean Lebas on Line 2)
• The pedestrian streets just past Grand Place (rue de Béthune, rue Neuve, Rue du Sec Arembault, rue des Tanneurs, etc.) offer popular clothing chain stores such as Etam, Pimkie, Zara, H&M, Sinéquanone, as well as small pubs, restaurants, and two movie theatres. Some of the buildings that house these stores have beautiful 30's-40's architecture.
• Euralille is Lille's largest shopping center and offers popular clothing chains, as well as the Carrefour hypermarket. Situated between the two train stations, Gare Lille Flandres and Gare Lille Europe, and right in the heart of the city near dozens of hotels, Euralille is easily accessible to travellers coming into the city.
• Le Furet du Nord (Place du Général de Gaulle) is the largest bookstore in Europe, it appears to be one of the most touristic "monument" in the city. It has 8 floors and offers more than 420,000 titles.
• There are dozens of upscale boutiques (e.g. Louis Vuitton, Kenzo) and trendier, independent stores located in Vieux Lille.

Eat

• Mid-range
• *Brasserie Flore (place Rihour, just beside La Chicorée, near 'Rihour' subway station) menus from 13,50€, large choice of good meals http://www.brasserieflore.com
• *La Chicorée (place Rihour, just beside le Flore, near 'Rihour' subway station) menus from 13,50€, food served nearly 24/24 and 7/7! Typical meals, typical beers. Do not miss the awesome plate collection on the walls. Each was signed by an artist or a famous person, as La Chicorée is the place were they usually eat after the show. You might even meet someone famous if you try it after 2 or 3 am!!! It's also the place where a lot of casual people eat at night, after their job, after a trip in café, after a show... Really a central place in Lille. http://www.brasserielachicoree.com

• High-range
• *The Barbue d'Anvers (rue St Etienne) Flemish cuisine
• *L'Huitriere (rue des Chats Bossus) Behind the early XXth century art-nouveau fish store lies one of the best seafood and fish restaurants in the country

Night Life

• On Rue Masséna, you will find countless bars, nightclubs, and restaurants including small delicious kebab stands that are open late until the wee hours of early morning.
• Salsa the night away at Le Latina Café on 42/44 Rue Masséna, where you will find all things Cuban including portraits of Che Guevara, hot Spanish tunes, and their famous Havana Club Mojitos. As well, indulge in a Desperado (tequila beer) or two. Drinks are a bit pricier, but the ambiance makes it all worth it.

External links

• http://www.mairie-lille.fr/ Official homepage of the city (French only)
• http://www.lille2004.com/ about Lille 2004 Cultural Capital of Europe
• http://www.lilletourism.com/ Tourist information center

This text of this article is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0. It has been slightly modified to fit the general design of this website. The authors of this document are Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel, David Le Brun, Pieter Blommaert, Wikitravel user Charmin and the following WikiTravel users: Nils, Nzpcmad, Ravikiran_r, Simone. The original version of this article can be seen at http://wikitravel.org/en/Lille.