Travel France - city break Lille

Lille is a city of contrasts, a chic and outward-looking city with strong industrial roots. It draws businesspeople and pleasure seekers in equal numbers. This undeniably French city, the capital of the Nord department, wears a Flemish cloak and its mix of French and Flanders culture permeates all areas of city life, from food and drink to architecture and culture.

Easily reached from London in only 80 minutes thanks to the speedy Eurostar link from St Pancras International, Lille has become a popular short-break destination with the British. One in four visitors to the city are from the UK and the compact city centre and metro system makes it an ideal destination for a weekend visit.

There’s no need to hire a car to make the most of what’s on offer; to make life simpler for city-breakers, the Lille tourist office has devised the City Pass. Available for between one and three days, this pass gives access to 27 tourist attractions in and around Lille, as well as free access to the city’s public transport network (for more details, see opposite).

According to local legend, Lille grew up around a castle belonging to local hero Lydéric du Buc. In 620, a prince of Dijon known as Salvaert was driven out of Burgundy with his pregnant wife Ermengaert. He intended to travel to England to seek refuge but was slain by the much-feared giant Phinaert while crossing his lands.

Ermengaert escaped and subsequently gave birth to a baby boy who was named Lydéric. After Ermengaert was captured by cruel Phinaert, the baby was raised by a local hermit and suckled on a doe. When he was eighteen, Lydéric entered the service of the King of England but returned to France to avenge the death of his father. He killed Phinaert, freed his mother and was crowned the first Flemish prince. He built a settlement on Phinaert’s land, which attracted locals who felt secure under the protection of brave Lydéric, and this became the city of Lille.

Tough times

Whether the legend bears any truth or not, there’s no doubt that Lille has withstood some tough times. It has been besieged eleven times, and has been ruled by the French, Flemish, Spanish and Austrians. During the First World War around 1,500 city-centre buildings were destroyed by bombing – keep an eye out for the Art Déco buildings that have sprung up in their place – and in May 1940, 40,000 French soldiers defended Lille against seven German divisions and the city was captured at the beginning of June.

Economically the city has seen its fair share of ups and downs too. During the Middle Ages, Lille was already famous for its textile industry and by the eighteenth century linen and cotton production was a serious source of revenue. Unfortunately, the rag trade did not make the fortunes of all of those involved; to see this you need only contrast the grand buildings of the city centre that were built for merchants with old workers’ houses around Nôtre Dame de la Treille cathedral, whose once damp and squalid cellars made for miserable working conditions. The textile trade continued to flourish in the nineteenth century, which along with the growth of industries such as metalwork and chemicals, allowed great expansion of the city. During this time Lille’s large open boulevards and squares were constructed as well as impressive classical buildings such as the Préfecture and the fine arts museum. During the 1970s the city saw a period of economic decline. This led to high levels of unemployment and a shift away from manufacturing and towards service industries. In the last fifteen years the city has gone from strength to strength. The arrival of the Paris TGV link in 1993 and the Eurostar in 1994 put Lille on the map of Europe and now the city looks firmly to the future.

In 2004 the city was designated European Capital of Culture and Lille was transformed into an art space, its open-air sculptures and cultural events attracting 9 million visitors. That accolade was the springboard for a string of regular cultural festivals such as lille3000, a celebration of contemporary art. The first event took place in October 2006, with India as the theme. The second lille3000 festival, in spring 2009, will be devoted to the culture of Central and Eastern Europe.

Beautiful buildings

To understand something of the city’s history, wander about with your eyes turned upwards and drink in the various buildings and architectural styles. A good starting point is the main square, the Grand’ Place, also known as the Place du Général-de-Gaulle (the general was born in Lille). This open square is popular with tourists and locals, who sip coffee or beer outside the various cafés. One of the city’s important and beautiful buildings, La Vieille Bourse, is found here. The old stock exchange was built in 1653 when Lille was under Spanish rule. Comprising 24 houses, its flamboyant façades created in the Flemish style depict garlands of fruit and flowers to signify wealth and a total of 80 figures, a mix of humans and mythological characters. All the houses were sold to private investors and turned an enormous profit. Once a bustling heart for commerce and trade, today a rather sedate second-hand book market takes place in the calm and shady interior courtyard.

On the east side of the Grand’ Place, is the Théâtre du Nord, built in 1700, less than fifty years after the stock exchange. Gone are the jolly façades of girls and garlands of the flamboyant Flemish style, indicative of the fact that by the beginning of the eighteenth century Lille was in French hands. In 1663, Louis XIV made claim to the Spanish Netherlands following his marriage to Maria-Theresa of Spain, finally capturing the city in 1667 after a siege. The citadel built on the edge of the city by Vauban is another legacy of Louis’ reign and was built between 1667 and 1670. Following another brief rule by the Dutch between 1708 and 1713, Lille finally became French for all time in 1713 but the legacy of former rulers lives on.

You may also hear the Grand’Place called the Place de la Déesse, after the statue in the square, which commemorates the siege of the city by 35,000 Austrians in 1792. During this (unsuccessful) attack, cannons bombarded the city and cannonballs left gaping holes in the exterior walls of many buildings. For enterprising home-owners the simplest way to repair their homes was to collect the cannonballs and cement them into the holes, plugging the gaps. You can see examples of this on the Rang de Beauregard, a block of fourteen houses on Place du Théâtre, next to the Grand’ Place. Unbelievably this highly desirable terrace of houses was unpopular when built in 1687 because the proud Lillois were used to dwelling in detached houses and did not want their home to be confused with that of their neighbour. To counter this, the architects devised a stylish way to tell individual houses apart: across the façade of the terrace there is an ornamental cherub perched on each column. When the cherubs are facing each other this means they are part of the same building, but when they are back to back it signifies the start of a new house – now a houseproud Lillois could never have his neighbour’s unkempt façade mistaken for his own.

Stylish addresses

Away from the hubbub of the two main squares, the old town is a wonderful place to explore. In contrast to the openness and straight lines of the Grand’Place, narrow winding cobbled streets such as Rue de la Grand Chausée and Rue Basse house chic shops selling designer handbags and fancy kitchen gadgets. Don’t be put off by the price tags though, these streets have real character and plenty of cafés to stop at for those who don’t want to break the bank. For a taste of Lille, treat yourself to a cake at the elegant Méert shop at 27, rue Esquermoise. Patisseries and ice cream have been sold from here since 1761 and it has long been one of the city’s most stylish addresses.

Another Lille institution is the famous Paul bakery, branches of which you’ll find in the old town and city centre, perfect for grabbing a tasty lunch at a bargain price. For a more down-to-earth shopping experience, venture out to the Sunday market in Wazemmes, just a few metro stops away from the centre. This market is a must-see for weekend visitors and the best place to be as the city-centre shops are closed on Sundays. Taking place around the Place de la Nouvelle Aventure, you can truly buy all manner of goods here, from tiny kittens and live chickens in the pet market, to antiques, North African flatbreads, plants and bargain-bucket plastic shoes. If the hustle and bustle all gets too much, nip into the covered halles housing the food market to buy some pungent Maroilles cheese, or seek refuge in one of the cafés opposite the église St-Pierre St-Paul. If you’re a true bargain hunter, come back in the first weekend of September, when the city is transformed into Europe’s largest flea market, a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages.

There are two easy-to-use underground lines as well as two tramway lines, which whisk you out to the suburbs and wider metropolitan areas such as Tourcoing and Roubaix, where you’ll find the Museum of Art and Industry with its glorious Art Déco swimming pool. The city centre itself is easily experienced on foot, but all that walking builds up a thirst, never mind an appetite. With its Flemish influences, Lille boasts a unique brand of cuisine in France and it’s possible to sample this in one of the many estaminets, the traditional Flemish cafés. Forget imbibing a glass of wine with the local cuisine, the locals drink cool golden beer in an assortment of rather conspicuous bulbous glasses.

For a tasty evening meal, leave the crowds of tourists in the cafés of the Grand’ Place and head to Rue de Gand in the old town. This hilly street is lined with restaurants where diners can sample both French and regional cuisine. In summer the street is closed off and it’s possible to eat alfresco. We walked up and down browsing the selection of restaurants before deciding on the cosy Chez la Vieille, where the blue and white tiles and antique dressers give the dining room the ambiance of a traditional Flemish kitchen.

Going native, we opted for hearty regional favourites such as carbonnade, a beef and beer stew, and the exotic-sounding waterzoï, which turned out to be a creamy chicken stew – all washed down with large glasses of beer, of course. Topped off with a crème brûlée, the meal embodied the finest flavours of both France and Flanders, much like Lille itself.