Lille

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Introduction

Lille

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Lille (Dutch: Rijsel), the fourth largest city in France, is in the far north of France, near the border with Belgium. The town's history goes back a thousand years, when it was an important trading town on the river Deûle. Lille was initially the possession of the powerful Counts of Flanders, but was taken over through the years by Burgundy and Spain before Louis the XIV took the town in 1667. He fortified the town, some of those fortifications can still be found today. In 2004, it was designated as a European Culture Capital.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Paris Gate and Town Hall

© All Rights Reserved GregW

• Vieux Lille - Old Lille is centred around the Place du Général de Gaulle with the impressive Vieille Bourse, a trading exchange built in the mid-1600s. Nearby is the Opera House, impressive inside and out, you can visit during scheduled performances or during open days.
• Notre Dame de la Treille is the seat of the Catholic church in Lille. The church was started in 1854 but not complete until 1999. The church is a mix of modern and gothic, with a very modern looking front facade.
• The Citadel of Lille is a pentagon-shaped citadel that was part of the city wall of Lille. It was built in 1668, part of a massive fortification by the Marquis de Vauban, who fortified 28 cities in France for Louis XIV to keep out the Spanish. The citadel in Lille was dubbed "Queen of the citadels" (Reine des citadelles) by Vauban, and it is one of the most notable citadels designed by Vauban. The citadel was part of a double line of fortified towns of Gravelines, Dunkirk and Maubeuge-Rocroi, called the pré carré ("square field"). Today it is home to the French military.
• The Town Hall and the Belfry was designed by the architect Emile Dubuisson. The town hall was built in the 1930s, and the belfry (clock tower) was the first building in Paris to be over 100 metres in height, and today is a World Heritage Site.
• Charles De Gaulle was born in Lille, and his birthplace is now the Museum of Charles De Gaulle.
• The Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille houses the second largest collection of fine art in France.
• The Old Paris Gate is at Place Simon Vollant. This Arch was built on the city walls from 1685 to 1692, to celebrate Louis XIV's conquest of Lille in 1667, and opened on to the road to Paris. At the top, Victory, sitting amongst trophies of arms and flags, places a crown of laurels on the head of Louis XIV, which is carved in a medallion. On the right, in a niche, Hercules, with his club, symbolises strength. To the left is Mars, the god of war.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Spring can be sunny, though temperatures probably won't rise above 8 °C. Summer is warm and sunny, with temperatures reaching 25C in August. In Autumn rain is more likely, and the temperatures cool to 11C. Winter can be very chilly, with highs in the low single digits with the potential of snow and rain.

Getting There

By Plane

The Lille-Lesquin International Airport is located 10 km from Lille city centre. Shuttle service from the airport to the city centre to the Euralille shopping centre. The ride takes 20 minutes. Tickets cost 5€ one way ticket and 8€ return.

By Train

Entrance to Lille Europe Train Station

© All Rights Reserved GregW

Lille is an important stop on the TGV and Eurostar network, linking London, Brussels, Paris and the rest of Europe. As such, it is easy to get to by Train.

Lille Europe Station has Eurostar service to London and Brussels, and direct TGV service to Roissy Airport, Paris and major French cities. London is 80 minutes, Paris is 90 minutes and Brussels is 36 minutes away.

Lille Flandres Station has local TER regional trains and other direct TGV service to Paris.

Other French stations are:

• Lyon: 3 hours, 11 direct TGVs a day
• Strasbourg: 3 hours and 20 minutes
• Rennes: 3 hours and 50 minutes, 4 direct TGVs a day
• Marseille: 4 hours and 30 minutes, 6 direct TGVs a day
• Bordeaux: 5 hours, 6 direct TGVs a day
• Montpellier: 5 hours, 5 direct TGVs a day

Train tickets can be found at SNCF (internal France), Eurostar (London or Brussels) and TER for local trains.

By Car

Lille is on six different motorways. The A1 goes to Paris. The A22 leads to the E17 to Ghent, Antwerp and Amsterdam. The A23 goes to Valenciennes. The A25 goes to Dunkerque and the A26 to Calais. The A27 leads to the E42 leading to Brussels.

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

Traffic can be bad in the medieval centre of Lille, where narrow, winding streets can quickly get clogged during rush hour. However, in general the city is well sign-posted and it isn't too hard to get around. There are public parking with 20,000 parking spaces as well as several multistory car parks in the city centre, in addition to on-street pay-and-display ticket parking. Parking varies from between 1.30€ to 1.60€ an hour, depending on the location.

By Public Transport

Transpole provides services in city on 2 subways, 2 tram lines and over 60 bus routes. A daily pass costs €3.50. Individual tickets cost €1.25 with 10 tickets for €10.30.

By Foot

The centre of Lille is very compact and a majority of the sites are within walking distance from each other. The city is relatively flat, so walking is easy.

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Lille is a big university town, and like most university towns, lots of bars with cheap drinks can be found. There are many bars and clubs along Rue Massena and the surrounding streets, with drink deals during a happy hour early in the evening.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

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