☝️ Click on the picture above to discover a special message for Australian travel agents from Selic , our LILLE tourism board representative who cannot wait to welcome Australians again! ☝️
North, all the way! Nestled in a curve drawn by the Belgian border, here is the Metropolis of Lille, the only one qualified as European, with its counterpart of Strasbourg. 95 municipalities, 1.2 million inhabitants, a high density, a young population.
Seen from above, a mosaic of landscapes and a palette of colors can be seen. Green, blue, grey, chalk and also that brick red that runs through the streets and houses, as warm as the people here... Genuine, spontaneous and without fuss, the people of Lille are undoubtedly the territory's most important asset! A sense of welcome, a taste for others, benevolence, you will quickly come to appreciate their legendary qualities, on the platform of a station or on the terrace of a café. Easily accessible, at the crossroads of the Paris, Brussels and London triangle, the Metropolis of Lille ticks all the boxes of the perfect weekend in town. A mix of heritage, historic streets, inspiring shops, welcoming eateries, exciting museums, places to stroll and breathe.
Stadium that will host 2023 Rugby World Cup matches
Stade Pierre-Mauroy: 50,000 seats
Sites not to be missed
- Old Lille: In this picturesque district, which has retained the winding street pattern of the Middle Ages, you can still find 17th-century houses. It's normal, this is the historic Flemish city! The facades combine sandstone, brick and white stone, the richest ones being decorated with baroque paintings and sculptures. Spice up your walk with shopping stops in the many boutiques or sample a local speciality. https://hellolille.eu/villes/lille/
The Villa Cavrois: Built for textile industrialist Paul Cavrois and his family, this 20th-century castle is now a landmark heritage site. Classified as a historical monument since 1990, it was acquired by the French State in 2001. This modernist villa, an architectural masterpiece by Robert Mallet-Stevens, brilliantly responds to an avant-garde commission and is also remarkable for its interior decoration. http://www.villa-cavrois.fr/
The La Piscine Museum in Roubaix: This is one of the most amazing museums in France, the only one housed in an Art Deco pool! Opened in 2001, La Piscine musée d'art et d'industrie André Diligent has retained its centerpiece, a large pool transformed into a sumptuous water mirror, in which dozens of statues are reflected. Sculpture is the major art of this atypical museum, as shown by the new wing devoted to modern sculpture. Works by Rodin, Picasso, Maillol and Giacometti echo Claudel's La Petite Châtelaine. https://www.roubaix-lapiscine.com/
Specialities in Lille
Meert's waffles: made by France's oldest pastry shop (it dates back to 1761), have seduced everyone from General de Gaulle to Winston Churchill, Jackie Kennedy, Alain Souchon or Amélie Nothomb... The mythical flat, sugar-filled waffle is made with Madagascar vanilla. www.meert.fr
Beer: Between the territory and beer, it's a long story! Here, beer has been brewed for over a thousand years. For a long time the poor relation of our tables, here it finds its letters of nobility! For the past twenty years, the brewing tradition has been in full revival, the number of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs is exploding and craft beers are multiplying. https://hellolille.eu/je-visite/mes-envies/hellolabiere/
New in Lille
Charles de Gaulle Birthplace: It was here, at 9 rue Princesse in Lille, that Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890, in the house of his maternal grandparents. Thanks to objects that belonged to him, we enter the intimacy of the general: his baptismal dress, his cradle, his sword from the military school of Saint-Cyr ... Since November 2019, it is the subject of a major renovation program. https://maisondegaulle.fr/
The Colors exhibition at the Tripostal from 9 April to 14 November 2021: Lille was the World Design Capital this year 2020. Following this great event, this exhibition, co-produced with the Ghent Design Museum, will explore the different aspects of color through different in situ installations made by artists and designers, in a unique and impressive place, the Tripostal, an industrial building rehabilitated into a contemporary exhibition center. https://www.lille3000.eu/portail/evenements/colors
Escapades in Lille
Street-Art tour in the metropolis: In the Lille metropolis, Street Art is everywhere... And often where we don't expect it! The European Metropolis of Lille and the Tourist Offices have even created 20 free access circuits to discover the 800 or so works of mural art that dot its facades in the 95 communes that make it up. https://hellolille.eu/je-visite/mes-envies/hellostreetart/
Cassel and the Flanders mountains: It's a misconception to think that the North of France is flat! Just a short distance from Lille, you can admire a multiplicity of landscapes, from the Flemish plain and visit the Flanders Mountains all different from each other! The Monts Des Cats, Kemmel, Mont-Noir, and Mont Cassel, the highest of all, at 176m of altitude! In Cassel, visit the magnificent Museum of Flanders and have lunch in an out-of-time estaminet, overlooking the plain at your feet. https://www.coeurdeflandre.fr/
Cassel town centre © CRT_Hauts-de-France Benjamin Teissedre
The city's professional club
- Olympique Marcquois Rugby Lille Métropole (OMR LM) and Lille Métropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois (LMRCV); Two clubs, one goal: for oval sports to shine north of Paris! The Olympique Marcquois Rugby Lille Metropole (OMR LM), having reached the men's Federal 1 this season with stated ambitions of Pro D2, and the Lille Metropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois (LMRCV) evolving at the highest level of women, in Elite 1, carry high the colors of rugby in Lille land since 1971 and 1972. Two clubs with the same desire to perform at the highest level in front of the Stadium's spectators, without neglecting training and local roots, which become more and more important each season. Two clubs, who will accompany us hand in hand to make the hosting of the competition a popular success with an undeniable legacy for the oval ball!
Follow our clubs https://www.omrugby.com/ & http://www.rugby-villeneuvedascq.fr/
Good addresses before or after the match
Bars and Pubs: Lille is certainly a French city, but with a little "British" side to it, you will realize it on match nights by walking through the streets of the Masséna district where many bars and pubs are waiting for you, l'Irlandais, le Solférino, The Queen Victoria or even the Tir Na Nog.
L'Gaïette And after having drunk a foam and vibrated in front of a match in a pub of the Masséna district, why not go to taste the specialities of Lille, as the famous Welsh, in an estaminet of this animated district? L'Gaïette for example, which is the temple of Lille's student nights where partygoers come to eat. https://www.lgaiette.fr/
Access
- By train: 1 hour by TGV from Paris and 1 hour from Roissy CDG TGV station.
Your representative in Lille
Sélic Lenne Agence d'Attractivité Hello Lille s.lenne@hellolille.eu https://hellolille.eu/en/
By France.fr
The magazine of the destination unravels an unexpected France that revisits tradition and cultivates creativity. A France far beyond what you can imagine…