Lille is a beautiful city in the north of France with a population of only 240,000. It is a popular city to visit from London because it is a very quick journey on the Eurostar. We took advantage of this recently and spent 24 hours in the city. It’s such a great size that it’s more than possible to enjoy Lille in a day.
How To Get There
If you do want to visit from London, it’s super easy. There is a direct Eurostar train from London St Pancras International which takes 1 hour and 22 minutes. As it’s an international trip you’ll need to get there early with your passport and go through security. You can take food through, however there are also places to buy food in the station and on the train. The Eurostar gets in to the Lille Europe station, only a 15 minute walk from the old town. This is also where Flixbuses will leave from and get into as well.
If you’re coming from somewhere regional or intercity by train, you will get into Lille Flandres. This station is only 500m away from Lille Europe and is closer to the old town so getting in here is easy too.
What To Do In Lille
Old Town
Once in the city, we recommend starting at the Grand Place, which is the main town square in Lille. There’s a big monument in the middle and the square is surrounded by outdoor restaurants and shops. One of the most gorgeous buildings in the square is La Vieille Bourse. This is an old stock exchange venue that is now home to a second hand book market in the courtyard within. There’s also vintage toys and old records available. From July to September every Sunday evening there’s free salsa lessons held here too. It’s definitely worth checking out even if you don’t want to buy anything or join in on the dancing.
From the Grand Place, head up Rue Esquermoise where you’ll pass some gorgeous and tempting chocolate shops. Go left down Rue Basse, stopping at The French Bastards bakery for some delicious pastries and bread on the way. Nearby is also the Delambre Bakery which has incredible New York style cookies, if they’re more your thing. Have a break in the garden of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral, then head inside for a quick look around. After lunch, head to Ilôt Comtesse, and just all the cute streets around it such as Rue de la Monnaie because this is just such a lovely part of town. The whole city is completely walkable which makes it easy to see Lille in a day.
If you’d like to see the old town in a more unique way, or you’re a fan of old cars, there’s a super fun Get Your Guide tour where you get driven around in a Convertible Citroen 2CV. If you’re a foodie, there’s some great food tours around the city as well! This one is filled with more savoury food. Or for those with a sweet tooth, this tour is full of delicious French pastries and desserts.
Citadelle de Lille
After walking around the city, head towards the Citadelle de Lille. There is so much to see and do here, but it’s all centred around the 17th century 5 sided fortress. This is still a working building, currently housing the Rapid Reaction Corps-France with over 450 soldiers. This means you cannot go inside unless you’re part of a guided tour. These tours can be booked at the Lille Tourist Office. Even if you’re not going inside, it is still cool to see from the outside.
Around the Citadelle there is still so much to do, such as the Lille Zoo which is a small but cheap zoo with tickets under €10 each. For thrill seekers there’s Acro Lille which is a treetop adventure course that goes through the trees around the Citadelle. For kids, there’s Cita-Parc which is a mini amusement park with each ride costing €3. And if you don’t want to do any of that, you don’t need to! The park around the Citadelle is beautiful, with lots of shaded paths and paths along the canals. There’s also sections that go under the Acro Lille treetop walk which is cool to watch from below.
After wandering around the Citadelle, there’s a lovely park just outside called Jardin Vauban that’s a nice place to relax in. There’s so many green spaces that we just loved while exploring Lille in a day.
Where To Stay
If you do want to stay the night to make it a full 24 hours or more in Lille, we would highly recommend where we stayed. We stayed at JOST Hôtel Lille Centre which is a short walk outside the old town. This is more like a hostel as it has dormitory rooms with separate shared bathrooms. However there are also private rooms with shared bathrooms, as well as rooms with private bathrooms too. On the ground floor there is also a food court and bar with lots of different eateries and places to sit and mingle.
We got a private capsule room with a shared bathroom for one night which cost us €44 which we loved and was comfortable and quiet. We also got food from a nearby restaurant but the food court downstairs had so many easy options that would be great too. This hotel really is great and we would highly recommend it if you want to stay overnight in Lille.
Overview
Overall we think it’s more than possible to explore and enjoy Lille in a day. The Eurostar makes it super easy to get to from London, otherwise there’s another closer station for intercity and regional trains too. The old town is gorgeous, with beautiful old buildings, lovely shops and a delicious bakery to get some French pastries from. We also loved our time walking around the Citadelle, and if you had more time there’s lots of activities you can do too. We chose to stay the night in JOST Hôtel Lille Centre, but this city really is small enough to see in one single day if you wanted to.
However long you spend in Lille, you will have a lovely time enjoy the French scenery, food and atmosphere and we wish you a great time in this gorgeous city!