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Travel guide
Lille
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to July, and September
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Welcome
Lille, in a few days
Flemish red brick, 17th-century scrolled facades and one of France's great art museums, all within a compact centre. An hour from Paris by high-speed train, Lille has provincial prices and a density of taverns, chip stands and bars out of all proportion to its size.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Grand'Place and the Old Stock Exchange free · about 45 minThe main square, officially Place du Général-de-Gaulle, with the Goddess column, faces the Vieille Bourse of 1653: 24 identical Flemish houses around a tiny courtyard.
- Afternoon · Old Lille and Place aux Oignons free · about 1 hWander without a route: half-open carriage doors reveal cobbled courtyards, and nearby Rue Péterinck, with its wooden signs, is quieter than the tiny square.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Kanaï€100 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Palais des Beaux-Arts · 2 to 3 hOne of France's largest art collections, with Rubens, Goya and Delacroix upstairs and, in the basement, giant 18th-century relief models of the northern fortified towns.
- Afternoon · The City Hall belfry · about 1 hAt 104 metres, this reinforced concrete belfry finished in 1932 is Europe's tallest and UNESCO-listed; on clear days the platform shows the mining slag heaps.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Grand Hôtel Bellevue€140 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Wazemmes Market free · about 1 h 30Lille's most mixed market, in and around a 19th-century hall: Flemish growers, North African grocers, West African fabrics and flea-market stalls, busiest on Sunday mornings.
- Afternoon · The Vauban Citadel and Bois de Boulogne free · about 1 hAn hour's flat, shaded walk around the moats, shared with runners and anglers; frame the carved Porte Royale from the entrance bridge.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Brueghel€110 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · LaM, Villeneuve-d'Ascq · 2 to 3 hStart with the curved concrete wing of outsider art, the most unsettling part, before the cubists; Aloïse Corbaz and Gaston Chaissac deserve real time.
- Afternoon · La Piscine, Roubaix · about 2 hA museum in former Art Deco baths, the pool still rippling under the vault, with Camille Claudel's Little Châtelaine and fabric drawers you open yourself.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel de la Treille€115 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €85 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to July, and September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/lille
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.