10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The foodie French town that's less than two hours from London and is perfect for a weekend break
On the Eurostar from London, you can be in Lille faster than it takes to travel to Margate, making it ideal for a chic long weekend away sampling the region's best food and drink and enjoying the festival atmosphere.
The French city has been under the rule of various entities, including Flemish, Burgundian, and Spanish Netherlands, as well as Romanesque-Moorish, Gothic-Classical, Neo-Renaissance, and Art Nouveau styles. The buildings and monuments of these eras fit together like pieces of an elegant puzzle. The sheer amount of lavish buildings is almost indecent and you will spend hours taking it all in. Stroll the city's pedestrian-friendly boulevards and the narrow streets that spider out in Vieux Lille (Old Lille), and stop for a long lunch in Place aux Oignons (named for the delicious smell from it's estaminets – cafés, bars or bistrots typical to Northern France).
This year, as every three years, Lille is hosting Lille3000, a legacy of the city's stint as European Capital of Culture in 2004. The arts and culture Fiesta programme runs until 9 November 2025, and there are parades, performances and exhibitions to enjoy and explore across the city and sprawling metropolitan area. Venues are deliberately diverse, and include Gare Saint Sauveur, a former goods train station; the grand 19th-century Palais des Beaux-Arts; and the vast Tripostal, a converted 1950s mail sorting office.
The Pom Pom Pidou exhibition at the Tripostal is Fiesta 's flagship event, where specially curated artwork borrowed from the closed-until- 2030 Centre Pompidou in Paris is ordered chronologically, around themes that represent the entire 20th century – a gargantuan task that has been wonderfully executed. Over three colourful floors, work by artists like František Kupka, Henry Valensi and Marcel Duchamp evoke movement and joy, and demonstrate how 20th century art turned everything upside down (see the legs-in-the-air Le mannequin by Alain Séchas on all the posters: this artwork that questions the traditional was chosen to represent the exhibition).
Lille3000 is just one part of the urban regeneration that has been ongoing in Lille since the 1990s, when industrial decline meant mass unemployment and widespread poverty. Today, the city has invested in public transport and cycle routes, revitalised former industrial buildings and revamped its historic buildings. It's a laidback place to spend time doing not much more than dropping into an art gallery, browsing the second-hand book market in the handsome Vielle Bourse (Lille's old stock exchange) and wandering the trails in the lush green Parc de la Citadelle. If you can muster the energy, climb the 400 steps of the Lille Town Hall Belfry, a Unesco World Heritage Site, with panoramic views across the city.
You'll want to dedicate a lot of your time in Lille to food and drink. Nibble a sweet vanilla waffle at Méert (one of the oldest pastry shops in the world), try a Welsh (a beer-soaked bread with cheddar cheese, ham and mustard) or beef stew cooked in beer at an estaminet, or enjoy dinner at one of the oh-so-cool restaurants flanking Parc Jean-Baptiste Lebas. You won't go wrong with a seafood extravaganza at minimalist Krevette from Michelin star chef Florent Ladeyn: start with oysters with ginger and move on to sea bass in basil and garlic with a little wild cauliflower, or asparagus with rhubarb shavings, or silky soft tuna tartare, then finish with creme brulee topped with horseradish. It's an adventure, paired with incredible wines.
The foodie scene in Lille is excellent and you'd need to return for many, many long weekends to wade through all the brunch spots and cafés – oddly (and perhaps comfortingly?), many of them with British names, like Made's Garden by Mademoiselle, Nuts! and Wally's Coffee.
And to drink? If Paris is all wine bars, then Lille is brewery tap rooms – there are more than 250 in the Lille region. The city is the capital of French Flanders, and its Flemish history means a close cultural as well as physical relationship with Belgium, and with craft beer.
Célestin, a microbrewery in Old Lille, traces its roots back to 1740 and is probably the oldest in the city, and some nice choices in the old town include La Capsule at 25 Rue des trois Mollettes and Bettignies (of the Brussels Beer Project) at 3 Av. du Peuple Belge. If you're interested in the history of beer making in Lille, then take a walking tour with tastings with L'Échappée Bière.
In December, Lille hosts a gorgeous Christmas market, and on the first weekend of September, the city centre is taken over by 'La Braderie', one of Europe's largest flea markets. And of course, there's the Fiesta until November this year. But honestly, the Hauts de France capital is more about strolling through interesting streets to find a restaurant for a long lunch, then a quiet bar for a refreshing beer and a spot of people watching.
English language guided tours of Old Lille are typically available on Saturdays at 11am – book in advance with the.
Rachel Mills was hosted by Hauts de France Tourisme and Hello Lille, and stayed at L'Arbre Voyageur
How to get there
Eurostar trains travel direct from London St Pancras to Lille, from £39 one-way.
Where to stay
A great budget option is JOST Hostel Lille Centre.
For a comfortable mid-range option on the edge of the old town, look no further than Hôtel l'Arbre Voyageur.
To push the boat out – with a spa – book historic L'Hermitage Gantois.
