Lille Short Breaks Guide

Article: France in day - Sue Dobson takes a day trip to Lille.

Lille is the fourth largest city in France after Paris, Lyon and Marseille, and has a population of about a quarter of a million. If you include the surrounding towns of Tourcoing, Roubaix and a number of other outlying suburbs, this number increases to well over a million. The name comes from L’Isle, because when the Vikings invaded it was then an island in the middle of marshes.

You can reach Lille in just over an hour from London by Eurostar with fares as low as £65 return. This makes travelling to Lille often cheaper than taking the train to Bristol on the weekend. Lille is about an hour from Calais, so if you want to drive it’s close enough to make it worthwhile, although the parking may be an issue if you don’t book it at your hotel, and not many hotels in Lille offer parking spaces. There are however a number of good underground car parks, but expect a good walk to the hotel.

You need to be located centrally to enjoy Lille, particularly as it’s generally quieter on the weekends than during the week. The Grand Place and its surrounding cafes and bars are a great place to hang out, but you can take in the Flemish influence of the buildings in the old town not far away with its attractive boutiques. If the weather’s not up to expectations you will always have the enormous Euralille shopping complex which is just a few hundred metres from the Lille Europe train station. There are plenty of things to do in Lille so you’ll have no problems filling the time.

Make sure you check what’s on at the Opera in Lille before you leave. The Opera house is right opposite the Hotel Carlton in the centre of town and often has performances on the weekends.

Most of the hotels in Lille are within walking distance of Lille Europe Station, so it’s unlikely you’ll need a taxi unless you have loads of luggage.