Lille - Things to see
The Eurostar train goes directly to Lille in Northern France from London’s Waterloo Station and on the Brussels line. It is near the coast and only an hours drive from the channel ports. Look out for cheap weekend city breaks to Lille in the national and local newspapers. Hotel accommodation is normally included. I was very pleasantly surprised when I visited Lille. It is a charming city with plenty to see. Although Lille has been part of France for 350 years, its lovely medieval centre is still redolent of the classic wool towns of Flanders. The grand architecture and cobbled streets of Vieux Lille stretch between the Canal de la Deule, the northern border of the inner city, and an enjoyably confusing complex of main squares comprising the town centre. General de Gaulle grew up in Lille and you will find his name everywhere.

Lille – Tart Shops
One of the specialities of Lille are the quiche Lorraine tart shops that you find all over the city. You order your favourite drink and choose either a savoury or sweet tart to have with it. They are a welcome break from junk food shops.

Lille - Shopping
The brash Euralille modern Shopping centre is by the Eurostar/TGV station. It is swathed in natural light and contains one of the biggest shopping malls in all of France, with 140 shops spread out over two very modern levels. Ideal for shopping before boarding the Eurostar. The strange L shaped tower block above it is called the Pinball Machine or Ski Boot by the locals for obvious reasons.

Lille's main square - Grand Place
Place du General de Gaulle or the Grand Place is Lille's main square. It is mostly pedestrianised, surrounded by grand buildings, shops and cafes. In the centre of the square is a fountain and around this is the statue and column of Deesse, the goddess and a symbol of the city, The statue commemorates the siege of Lille by the Austrians in 1792, after the Revolution. The prominent " Theatre du Nord", houses one of Europe's biggest bookshop. The big La Voix du Nord building with the triangular Flemish step gable roof with golden statues on top, that represent the counties of Artois, Flandres and Henegovia, houses a big shopping center inside the building on the ground floor. Place du General de Gaulle joins onto Place Rihour. Place Rihour is home to a huge war memorial, and a plastic pyramid fountain - quite a contrast!! The tourist office can be found here too. The successive wars and foreign occupations resulted in considerable damage to the buildings of both squares and the fire in 1916 completed their destruction. The restoration of the old buildings has been amazing. It is a shame other cities around the world have not taken as much care with their war damaged buildings as the people of Lille The tourist board head office is also housed in a part. The Palace Rihour in the Place Rihour is the sole legacy of the time when the dukes of Burgundy ruled over Lille. Began in 1453 and completed 20 years later. In 1664 the municipality bought it for use as the town hall but this burnt down in 1916. Only the ceremonial stairway and the chapel escaped. It is one of the rare remains in Lille of the flamboyant style of Gothic architecture, visible today in the sumptuous guard room on the ground floor and above this, in the vast conference chamber pierced by niches bearing the coasts of arms of the dukes of Burgundy. A heavy door leads to the sacristy, which is illuminated by stained flass windows. It is the headquarter of the Tourism Office.

Lille - Vieille Bourse – The Old Stock Exchange
Vielle Bourse, built in 1652, is one of the most spectacular buildings in Lille. It is located in Place du General de Gaulle, the main square, and has been restored to its original 17th century Flemish Renaissance beauty. It is actually made up of 24 individual houses, which surround a cloistered courtyard. Each house is slightly different due to interesting and ornate mouldings on the outer walls. At certain times of the week the courtyard is open to the public. On a Sunday there is a book market. It was a very peaceful place to be. The building is very colourful. You can walk from the Grand Place through the Vieille Bourse to the Place du Théâtre.

Lille - Vieux Lille
Vieux Lille or Old Lille is perhaps the most picturesque district of Lille. It is immediately north of Place General de Gaulle min town square. There are 17th century cobbled streets, antique shops, some nice restaurants and close by a big park: a great area to walk in. It is situated in and around Rue de la Monnaie. This is also the area where the Musée Hospice Comtesse is situated. On the corner of Place Louis de Bettignies and Rue des Bonnes Rappes stands a very old bakery. It's a lovely little shop dating from 1793. The Flemish architecture stands out on the townhouses and courtyards. This area is where all the haute-couture fashion boutiques are. You can find many different shops for varying styles and prices. Many people shop these stores during the day and then hang out in the quarter at night.

Lille - Rue Faidherbe
Rue Faidherbe is the street between the train station and the historical centre. It's a broad street full of shops. It used to be a big, busy street full of cars. The mayor, however, has decided to make a 'rambla' of this street like the ramblas in Barcelona. So sidewalks have been broaden and passage for cars diminished. It runs from the train station Gare Lille Flandres to the town centre.

Lille - Place du Théâtre
The most striking building on the Place du Théâtre is the new stock exchange with its belfry. It was built in neo-Flemish style in 1906. Nowadays it houses the Chamber of Commerce. Place du Theatre is located just off the Grand' Place, at the end of rue Faidherve. It is home to some fabulous buildings and shops, including a very out of place asian tea room! The impressive buildings here are the Opera House and the Chamber of Commerce, with its impressive 76m Belfry. The Chinese looking building, that looks quite of of place in a city like Lille, but still was nice to see it there. It was part of a cultural exhibition in 2004 as it was the Year of China in France. One of the fabulous buildings located in the Place du Theatre is the Rang de Beauregard. It is opposite the New Stock Exchange. It is an ornate terrace of 14 three-storey houses and shops that were built in 1687. The most amazing thing about the Rang de Beauregard is that if you look closely you can still see some of the cannonballs embedded in the building from the siege of Lille by the Austrians in 1792. The new Opera house is Next to the New Stock Exchange and near the Chinese building. It was built in 1906 in Louis XVI-style. On the right side of the entrance you can find this statue. It represents tragedy. On the left side is the statue representing music.

Lille - Hospice Comtesse
The most attractive of all the Lille historical buildings is the Hospice Comtesse. Set on rue de la Monnaie, this former hospital, founded in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 18th, houses a museum of Flemish art, furniture and ceramics, a lovely garden, chapel and concert venue. The Countess of Flanders, Jeanne de Constantinople, had the hospice built in 1237 as an appeal for her husband who was captured. The hospice was totally destroyed by a fire in 1468 and rebuilt a couple of times afterwards. That's why you will notice façades in different styles. Some of the rooms have been restored. The convent, the hospital ward with its timbered ceiling and also the chapel. There is a wonderful kitchen with lovely dutch blue and white tiles covering the walls from floor to ceiling. The rooms are home to many beautiful paintings by Dutch ,Flemish and French painters. There are some lovely tapestries on the walls too. Outside there is a lovely courtyard with seating areas.

Lille - General de Gaulle
Northwest of the old city and slightly north of the Citadel is the birth place of the late President de Gaulle Rue Princesse 9. He was born in this house on the 22nd of November 1890. As General Charles de Gaulle was the leader of the Free French forces in World War 2, which he did from the UK. In the 1950's he became president of France. His childhood was spent here. The house is a museum to his childhood and to his life. It houses the car that is riddled with bullet holes from a failed assassination attempt on his life and immortalised in the film "Day of the Jackal". He died in 1970.

Lille - Famous Art Gallery
Palais des Beaux Arts, 1 allee du Musée, south of the city centre The Palais des Beaux Arts is France's second museum after the Louvre. It is renowned for its fabulous art collection, that was originally bought to Lille under order from Napoleon. Nearest metro: Republique. It is housed in a beautiful 19th century building that overlooks the Place de la République. In this museum you will discover paintings from European painters Goya,Van Dyck, Rubens, Picasso and Raphael. In front of the museum, there's a nice fountain with a small park. The inner courtyard is very spectacular. A glazen 'wall' reflects beautifully the old facade of the building. There is also a display of display of old relief maps of regional fortified towns Works by Monet and Renoir are among the collection at the Musée des Beaux-Arts (place de la République, south of the city centre, while the Musée d’Art Moderne, 1 allee du Musée, with its Picassos, Braques and Derains, is the main attraction of the suburb of Villeneuve d’Ascq, a 15-minute metro ride to the east.

Lille - Porte de Paris (The city gate that leads to Paris)
There were four different gates to enter Lille, Porte de Paris being the most famous one. There are only three remaining gates left. The port De Paris is the most striking of them. It is close to the Town Hall and the belfry. It was erected between 1685 and 1692 and it features figures of Mars and Hercules symbolising War and Power. There is a drawbridge which crosses the moat garden. The only downside to this magnificent site is that it stands on a very busy roundabout. In 1667 Louis XIV of France besieged and captured Lille. To mark his victory, he ordered to build a huge triumphal arch similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It's a unique and beautiful gate which was part of the city wall. The tower on the right is the belfry of the town hall, built in 1932 . You can climb the 104 m-high belfry for a splendid view of Lille.

Lille - Natural History Museum
Ideal if it is raining. 19 rue de Bruxelles, LILLE. 'Republique' or "Mairie de Lille' Stations on Lille's convenient new metro system are 5 minutes' walk away. Urban bus routes 13 or 14 pass nearby. Check if it is open first.

Lille - The Citadelle
The Citadelle can be found just outside of the centre ville and is accessible by metro. This monument is in the shape of a pentagon and still houses the French military and its operations in and around Lille. In the center of the walled pentagonal shape in the operations and main buildings. People may have guided tours from May to August 3-5pm. The surrounding areas include a very pretty park and walkways which are open to the public. For guided tours call the Office of Tourism at 03.20.21.94.21 To get to the parks and Citadelle by bus take the #14 busline. Everyone recommends the Citidel, don't do what we did and assume that it is open to the public all the time. You can only go on pre-booked tours, and the only tour during our stay there wa fully booked, in French and only once durign teh whole weekend. It looked great from outside the gates though. Tcikets for tours are available from the Tourist information office, near Place de Republique. Kids might enjoy the little zoo close to the Citidel, it is free a little worn & tired but good way to keep little ones happy. Situated to the north west of the town centre, the citadelle was built in the 17th century. Its owned by the army but the park surrounding it is a great place to go for a walk. Behind the citadelle is a leisure park with a zoo. Entry is free but it is closed December to February. Across the road from the citadelle back towards town, check out the Jardin Vauban created in the mid 19th century and famed for its beautiful flowers.

Lille - Bois De Boulogne
Situated to the north west of the town centre is the Bois De Boulogne surrounds the Citadel and also houses the city zoo. The canal surrounds this wonderful area and it has some lovely picturesque lock gates. There are fifty hectacres of countryside within the city limits and the space is home to fitness fanatics !! It is the biggest green space in the city and everyone's favourite place for a Sunday afternoon walk.

Lille - Regular markets
These markets can be found every week: Rue du Solférino - general markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays Place du Concert - general markets in Lille's Old Town on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Vieille Bourse courtyard - daily flower market, also book stalls that repay a good browse. Quartier de Wazemmes - Sunday morning flower market; antiques and bric-a-brac by the church; local produce and seafood in the covered market. "Braderie" annual street fair. On the first weekend each September a million visitors throng the streets of Lille. It's an enormous boot fair! Anyone can set up a stall - they line 200 km of pavements throughout old Lille, selling paintings, antiques, ornaments, furniture and junk of every description. Part of the celebrations is eating moules-frîtes - mussels and chips. Traditionally, after eating you leave your empty shells outside the stall of restaurant - they compete to see which amasses the biggest pile by the end of the fair.