Lille Things to Do Tips by sue_stone Top 5 Page for this destination

Place du General de Gaulle Place du General de Gaulle / Grand Place Review

Place du General de Gaulle or the Grand' Place is Lille's main square.

It is mostly pedestrianised, surrounded by grand buildings and the cities main meeting place.

In the centre of the square is a fountain and around this is the column of Deesse, the goddess and a symbol of the city, which commemorates the bravery of the locals during the siege of Lille back in 1792.

Come to the square to admire the grandeur of Lille.

Directions: 10 minutes walk from the train station, via rue Faidherbe

Place Rihour Place Rihour Review

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.

Place du Theatre Place du Theatre Review

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.

A great square for a photo - especially when the sky is blue!

Directions: 5 minutes walk from Gare Lille Flanders, just behind the Grand' Place

P'tit Quinquin P'tit Quinquin Review

The P'tit Quinquin is a statue to a lullaby.

It was erected in memory of a town-hall clerk, who back in 1852 composed a lullaby that was adopted by every mother in Lille, and used to soothe their children at bed time.

The statue shows a poor lacemaker whose child would not stop crying, and is said to "melt the hardest of hearts"

It is situated in the pretty Square Foch, which is a relaxing place to stop for a while and rest your feet.

Address: Square Foch, rue Nationale

Directions: Nearest metro: Rihour

Vielle Bourse Vielle Bourse Review

Vielle Bourse is one of the most spectacular buildings in Lille.

It is located in Place du General de Gaulle, and has been restored to its original 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. When we were there on a Sunday, there was a book market, with plenty of locals browsing for a hidden treasure.

Address: Place du General de Gaulle

Directions: Nearest Metro: Rihour

Cannonballs in the Rang de Beauregard Rang de Beauregard Review

One of the fabulous buildings located in the Place du Theatre is the Rang de Beauregard.

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 seige of 1792.

Amazing!

Directions: In the Place du Theatre, opposite the Chambre de Commerce.

Modern Lille The Ski Boot Review

Lille has some amazing old architecture, but also has its fair share of more modern and quirky buildings.

This bizarre building is located at Gare Lille Europe (the Eurostar Terminal).

We were quite taken with this giant boot looking office block, and spent a bit of time taking photos.

: )

Address: Gare Lille Europe

Palais des Beaux Arts Palais des Beaux Arts Review

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.

Unfortunately we did not have the time to visit the museum, but will ensure we do if we get the chance to go back to Lille one day.

A must for art lovers!

Address: place de la Republique

Directions: Nearest metro: Republique

Phone: 03 20 06 78 00

Website: http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/visit/visit-lille-beaux-arts.htm

City of Statues/Monuments! Architecture Review

Lille seems to be a city of statues and monuments.

Every corner you turn seems to bring you to another statue!

As all the plaques were in french, we often did not know what the statue represented, but I took photos of them all anyway.

This one we could understand - it was a monument to Charles de Gaulle, who was born in Lille.