Day trips from Lille
Lille sits on the Belgian border, and its high-speed station makes it a good base. You can spend several days exploring without ever changing hotel.
Four cities you can do in a day
Brussels
This is the fastest and most frequent link, with around fifteen direct trains a day. You have plenty of time for a full day in the Belgian capital, between the Grand-Place, the European quarter and the beer bars, and you can still sleep in Lille.
Tournai (Belgium)
The closest Belgian town, and the one rushed visitors skip. Its belfry is the oldest in Belgium and its Notre-Dame cathedral has five towers. Half a day is enough, and you'll meet far fewer people than in Bruges or Brussels.
Bruges
The furthest of the four, and the most striking for its canals and intact medieval centre. Since you have to change trains, set off early and plan a full day rather than an afternoon.
Ghent (Belgium)
Ghent is often overshadowed by Bruges, and yet it's the one I'd recommend first. You get the same canals and the same stepped gables, but it's a real university city that lives all year round, not a set built for coach parties. Go and see the Graslei and Korenlei quays in the late afternoon, then the Castle of the Counts. The terraces are full of locals.
Take the coach rather than the train. FlixBus runs Lille to Ghent in about 55 minutes for a few euros, leaving from boulevard de Turin near Lille-Europe. That's quicker than the train, which takes 1h15. The coach stops at Gent Dampoort, a kilometre from the centre: allow a quarter of an hour on foot, or two tram stops.
By train you leave Lille-Flandres for Gent-Sint-Pieters, direct and roughly hourly. More comfortable and more expensive, but the station is further out.
Practical notes
- Tickets
- Cheaper if you book ahead on SNCF Connect or the Belgian railways site
- Departure station
- Lille-Flandres for regional trains into Belgium, Lille-Europe for high-speed services
- Documents
- Bring your ID card or passport, even for these short hops