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Lille, France

A weekend in Lille, our must-see and must-do things

12 February 2022

Located in northern France, Lille is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region. It is located near the Belgian border, making it the perfect destination for a weekend or a few days.

Visiting Lille's historic center

The architecture of the houses in the historic center and Vieux-Lille testifies to the important role it played in the history of Flanders. This Flemish influence is found in the 17th-century brick houses, the cobbled alleys, and the central Grand Place.

Theatre Square

Several iconic buildings are found on this square: the Opera House, the Rang de Beauregard, the Lille Chamber of Commerce (New Stock Exchange) and the Old Stock Exchange.

Opera of Lille
Opéra de Lille

The Lille Chamber of Commerce

Standing 76 meters tall, the magnificent Guildhall of the Chamber of Commerce in Lille dominates the Opera House and the entire Theatre Square. Unfortunately, it is not possible to climb all the way to the top, except for a few lucky guests during events organized inside the Chamber of Commerce. Not to be confused with the Town Hall Belfry.

Chamber of Commerce of Lille
Chamber of Commerce
Belfry of the Chamber of Commerce of Lille
Belfry of the Chamber of Commerce
Hotel Carlton in Lille
Hotel Carlton

Old Stock Exchange

This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful buildings in Lille's historic center. Composed of 24 identical houses containing a cloister, the Old Stock Exchange now houses booksellers in its inner courtyard.

Open daily from 1 pm to 7 pm except on Mondays, you enter via Théâtre Square, opposite the Opera, or Grand'Place.

Entrance old stock exchange of Lille from the theater square
Facade of the old stock exchange of Lille from the Place du Theatre
Secondhand book stall, old bookstore, Lille
Interior of the Cloister of the Old Stock Exchange of Lille

Grand Place or General Charles de Gaulle Square

The Grand'Place or General de Gaulle Square is Lille's central square. With its 155 meters in length and 72 meters in width, it features the iconic Old Stock Exchange, the Theatre, and the iconic Column of the Goddess with its fountain in the center.

Grand Place of Lille

Rihour Palace

Located Place Rihour, a few tens of meters from Lille's Grand'Place, the Palais Rihour was built in the 15th century by the Dukes of Valois-Burgundy. Today, the guardroom houses the Lille Tourist Office.

Exterior of the Rihour Palace in Lille
Interior of the Palais Rihour
alcove with 2 benches near a window of the staircase of the Palais Rihour in Lille

Republic Square

The Republic Square is surrounded on one side by the Lille Fine Arts Palace and on the other by the Prefecture. This urban space, a little removed from the historic center, is perfect for strolling among the plane trees and fountains.

Building of the Prefecture, Republic Square in Lille
Zoom on the building of the prefecture in Lille with bushes in the foreground
Close-up view of the Prefecture building in Lille with the fountains in the foreground

Coilliot House

The Coilliot House is an Art Nouveau style house. It was built by the architect Hector Guimard at the end of the 19th century. It is located at 14 Rue de Fleurus in Lille.

Maison Coillot, house of Art Nouveau style in Lille
Maison Coillot, house of Art Nouveau style in Lille

Strolling through the typical alleyways of Old Lille

Weppe Pass

With its small garden and colourful houses, the Passage de Weppe is well-known to lovers. It is located between rue Esquermoise and the Notre-Dame de la Treille Cathedral.

Passage of the Weppe to Lille
Passage of the Weppe to Lille

Loos Abbey Garden

The Loos Abbey Garden is a small haven of peace located in the heart of Old Lille.

Gardens of the Abbey of Loos in Lille

Old Walls Street

Rue des Vieux-Murs is a typical alleyway in Old Lille. It has several great addresses, such as Les Frères Pinard, Tamper!, Le Barbier qui fume, and the must-see Merveilleux de Fred.

Street of the Old Walls - Typical alley of Old Lille
Street of the Old Walls - Typical alley of Old Lille
Showcase of Fred's Marvels - Focus on pastries
Wonderful of Fred

Onion Square

In the heart of the Rue des Vieux-Murs, you'll find the authentic Place de l'Oignon with its cobblestones, typical houses, and lovely terraces in the summer.

Place of the Onion in Old Lille

Comtesse Island

Comtesse Island is a small green space surrounded by typical red-brick houses on one side and the Comtesse Hospice Museum on the other. An unusual square where you can stop for a coffee, tea, or lemonade (to your taste) between two shops in Old Lille.

Isle Countess in Lille

High House

Near Gand Square, one finds one of Lille's unusual places: the High House. It's impossible to miss, as it stands out from the surrounding houses by being taller and much narrower. The High House is a testament to the lack of space Lille experienced in the 19th century.

High house in Lille - Very narrow and tall house in red bricks

Admire the panorama from the Belfry of the Town Hall

Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Belfry of the Town Hall dominates Lille with its 104 meters in height. Once the entrance is passed, you will need to climb the first 100 steps on foot. At the end of these, two options are available to you: continue ascending the remaining 306 steps to the top on foot or take the elevator.

By choosing the steps, you discover explanations on each floor that retrace the history of the Belfry. You learn more about its construction and the roles it has played since. It even hosted the first television studio and the first regional broadcasts of France. On the base of the Belfry of the Town Hall are sculpted Lydéric and Phinaert, the 2 founding giants of the city of Lille.

Belfry of the Town Hall of Lille
Belfry of the Lille Town Hall
Giants founders of the city of Lille at the foot of the Belfry

At the summit, the 360° view of Lille is breathtaking. We enjoyed finding all the buildings on the indications, like the Chamber of Commerce, the Palais Rihour, the Place de la République, Saint-Sauveur Church, etc. Our favourite view is the bird's-eye perspective of the beautiful Porte de Paris and the play of light and shadow with the sun.

View on the Chamber of Commerce from the belfry of the town hall
Summit of the Belfry of the town hall
Door of Paris from the Belfry of the town hall
Gate of Paris
Church Saint-Sauveur from the Belfry of the town hall
Saint-Sauveur Church

Preparing your visit

The Belfry of the Town Hall is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5:30pm. We strongly advise you to book online (24 hours before your visit) to be sure to climb to the top at your desired time. Furthermore, the price drops from €7.50 to €6.00 if you book online.

Cloister of the town hall of Lille
At the top of the belfry of the town hall

Extend your visit by discovering the Paris Gate

We fell in love with the view of the Paris Gate from the Belfry of the Hôtel de Ville. Once our feet were back on the ground, we decided to extend our walk through the neighborhood and discover the Paris Gate from the ground. A remnant of the Lille fortifications, it was built in the 12th century and now stands in the middle of a cobblestone square.

Door of Paris to Lille
Door of Paris to Lille

Spend an afternoon in Roubaix

Easily accessible from Lille city center (Lille-Flandres) by public transport, Roubaix is a city renowned for its cultural heritage. After purchasing a ticket, we're on our way to Roubaix to discover the Villa Cavrois and La Piscine (André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry). We dedicated a whole article to this Roubaix getaway where you can find our account of this vibrant afternoon at our story.

Villa Cavrois in Roubaix viewed from the water mirror
Villa Cavrois

Shopping and discovering small boutiques in Lille

El Market

El Market is a concept store offering an eco-friendly selection of beauty/wellness products, home goods, zero-waste products, children's items, and a beautiful women's and men's fashion corner. It features brands offering social or environmental value-add.

Vitrine El Market in Lille
Vitrine El Market in Lille

Practical Information

Address • 128 rue Léon Gambetta in Lille - Wazemmes

Website • www.elmarket.fr

Kumø Workshop

The design shop Atelier Kumø is an independent décor shop combining design objects, stationery, furniture, and a corner for children. One can also find the beautiful posters of the designer Marie-Lou.

Neon and shop window Atelier Kumø in Lille
Facade of the Kumø Atelier in Lille

Practical information

Address • 7 Rue de l’Hôpital Militaire in Lille

Website • www.atelierkumo.fr

The Gallodrome

The Gallodrome is a shop offering t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and other items proudly displaying the colors of the North in a graphic and quirky way.

Practical Information

Address • 17 rue de la vieille comédie in Lille

Website • www.legallodrome.com

Ferret

Mouflette is a concept store where you can find decorative objects, lifestyle items, and kids' products. A lovely selection in a small shop in Old Lille.

Practical information

Address • 41 Rue Basse in Vieux-Lille

Website • mouflette.design

Célestin, micro-brewery of Vieux-Lille

The Célestin Beer Cave is a cool little shop where you can find the various beers brewed at Célestin as well as a selection of special French, Belgian, or American beers. If you want to go further, they organize brewery tours with a tasting at the end.

Practical information

Beer Cave Address • 120 rue Esquermoise in Lille

Website •  www.celestinlille.fr

Our good addresses in Lille

A dynamic city with a rich cultural heritage, Lille also boasts a wealth of great places to eat. In 3 days, we weren't able to try all the recommended restaurants. Below, you'll find our favorite places to eat in Lille.

The Pinard Brothers

The Pinards Brothers is a wine bar and specialty grocery store. All wines on the menu can be ordered by the glass. Accompanying them are well-stocked prepared or customizable charcuterie boards. Favorites include the Roussette de Savoie Altesse 2016 from Domaine Eugène Carrel et fils (White) and the Côtes de Provence 2018 from Domaine Fouquette (Rose).

Interior of the Pinards Brothers - Wine bar and specialty grocery store in Vieux-Lille
The Pinard Brothers - Wine bar and specialized grocery store in Old Lille

Practical information

Address • 26 and 28bis Rue des Vieux-Murs in Lille

Website • lesfrerespinard.com

Bloemeke

The Bloemeke is an establishment by Florent Ladeyn who participated in season 4 of Top Chef. Located above the Bierbuik (Florent Ladeyn's pub and brewpub), the Bloemeke offers a unique formula (appetizer/main course/dessert) for 25€. A regional cuisine cooked over wood fire with 100% local produce. In addition to the Bierbuik and the Bloemeke, Florent Ladeyn offers gourmet cuisine at his restaurant, the Bloempot.

Bloemeke, restaurant of Florent Ladeyn in Lille
Bloemeke, restaurant of Florent Ladeyn in Lille
Dessert of potato by Florent Ladeyn at Bloemeke in Lille
Potato dessert

Practical information

Address • 19 Rue Royale in Lille

Website and reservations • bierbuik.fr

Grand Stage

Grand Scène, it's the new temple of Lille street food. It features 10 restaurants, 2 bars, and a coffee shop in a family-friendly and colorful setting. Here, no arguments about whether to eat a burger, Italian, Greek, or Syrian food: everyone orders what they want and we all gather around a common table. We arrived a little late not knowing the food stalls' hours and several were closed. We finally found our happiness at Ataya, a Syrian caterer offering mezze, "sandwiches" and composed dishes. We enjoyed it, with special mention for the chicken marinade.

Interior Grand Scène - Food market in Lille
Ground floor of Grand Scène - Food Market in Lille
Ice Tea at the Grand Scène food market in Lille
Ice Tea
Syrian plates from ATAYA - Grand Scène food market in Lille
Plates from Ataya

Practical information

Opening Hours • You can find the Grand Scène opening hours on their website. Be aware, they do not list the food stalls' hours. These usually close from 2 PM to 7 PM, except for special events.

Address • 31 rue de Béthune in Lille

Website • grand-scene.com  

Grocery stores in Lille city center

During our stay in Lille, we had the opportunity to have some meals in our accommodation. We have thus tested and approved the cheeses from Philippe Olivier (3 rue Cure Saint-Etienne), the breads from Alex Croquet (66 rue Esquermoise) and the deli of Petit Fermier (103 rue Esquermoise), all available in the historic center of Lille.

How to get to Lille from Brussels?

Traveling to Lille by train

It's very easy and quick to travel to Lille by train from Brussels. In 34 minutes, we arrive at Lille-Europe by TGV from Brussels-Midi station. We booked our tickets 2 weeks in advance on the website sncf-connect and they cost us 38€ per person round trip. An affordable and eco-friendly train journey.

Getting to Lille by car

It will take you between 1h30 and 2h to travel to Lille from Brussels. We did not choose this option and therefore cannot provide information on parking and measures to consider during your stay in Lille.

But even more...

In a weekend or 3-4 days in Lille, you really have time to discover a good part of the city. There are several must-sees that we haven't been able to do yet, such as the Citadel, the Quai du Wault, the Napoleon Bridge, the Fruit Tree Orchard, the famous Wazemme Market, etc. This is an opportunity for us to return and perhaps even discover the surroundings of Lille.

You can find all our good addresses and places to see on our Mapstr account (@lesexplorateursdumonde). Don't hesitate to follow us there! 😉

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