Practical information for visiting Lille
Everything that doesn't fit on the places, restaurants or bars pages, but makes a stay easier.
Getting to Lille
Two stations serve the city. Lille-Europe for high-speed services: Eurostar from London, Thalys from Brussels, TGV from Paris. Lille-Flandres for regional trains into Belgium and the rest of the Hauts-de-France. They face each other, five minutes apart on foot.
Getting around once you're there
The centre is easy to walk. Most places in this guide are less than twenty minutes apart on foot. For longer trips:
- The metro (Ilévia network) has two driverless lines. It was one of the first fully automatic metros in the world.
- Tickets are sold at machines in every station, cards accepted.
- The day pass, around €5 for unlimited travel, pays for itself after two or three journeys.
Parking
On-street parking is chargeable from 9am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday. It's free from 7pm to 9am, and all day on Sundays and public holidays. One common misconception: unlike many French cities, Lille does not make parking free in August.
Rather than circling the city centre where everything is chargeable, park over by the Citadelle. The regulated zones stop before the park. The two free car parks I use, Passerelle Vauban and Colysée, are marked in green on the guide's map.
From there you walk into town across the moats and tree-lined paths. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes, through the city's largest green space instead of through traffic. It's a pleasant walk in spring and summer, and often quicker than you'd expect.
One word of caution: the paid perimeter has expanded into several neighbourhoods in recent years and keeps changing. Always check the signs and look for a ticket machine before leaving the car.
Paying while you're there
Cards work almost everywhere in France, even for small amounts. Still, keep a little cash for some market stalls, a few traditional bars, or when a terminal goes down. It's rarer than elsewhere, but it happens. Cash machines are easy to find in the centre.
Safety and common sense
Lille is a pleasant and broadly safe city, but it's a large one. Better to know where and when to pay attention than to find out on the spot.
The station district and Euralille after dark. By day it's a busy business and shopping area with no particular difficulty. Once the shops close the mood changes a lot: the open spaces empty out and the area becomes far less welcoming. Nothing unusual for a European station district, but it isn't somewhere to linger late without reason. If you arrive by train at night, head straight to your accommodation.
Late-night closing time. Around rue Solférino and Masséna there's a lot of drinking, and weekend nights can get rowdy at closing. Not dangerous as such, but easily avoided by not hanging around once the bars shut.
Vieux-Lille stays lively until late and is the most comfortable area for an evening walk. Be aware, though, that the streets leading away from it empty out within a few hundred metres.
Pickpocketing is by far the most common risk. Markets, the metro at rush hour, crowded terraces, and above all the Braderie. Keep your phone and wallet out of sight, and don't leave a bag hanging on the back of a chair.
The rest is common sense. At night, stick to busy streets rather than deserted shortcuts. The metro runs late at weekends, and once it stops, a ride-hailing car stays cheap for a trip across town.
A word on language
A "bonjour" and a "merci" when you walk in are always appreciated, but don't worry: most shopkeepers in the centre and most younger people get by in English, and a translation app covers the rest.