In a week's time or so I will have one day — one free day — in Lille, France. What do you recommend?
Bleg for Lille, France
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I can’t recommend anything about the area, but just eat a lot of wonderful French food and drink lots of great wine….after that, everything will look good.
The old city with the main square and the “Beffroi” is really neat. Lille is actually interesting in that it is not standard French city but a city of the Flanders. The locals tend to be really nice. Food is also quite different from the rest of France. Try anything that has a Dutch or German sounding name. Then if you are interested in seeing the French equivalent of Flint Michigan, go to Roubaix (public transit will take you there). Finally, the main museum is not very much. You can also by the see quite easily but it is sort of sad.
dunkerque (town where England almost lost WW2) is ~30 miles away and makes for a moving trip. It is also very close to the Belgian city of Ypres (arguably the most dramatic battlefield of WW1 and certainly the best modern-era destination to understand WW1). Lille in the 20th C is a battlefield. It can be morose (esp. as industry has finally given up the hope of ever being profitable again), but it is ground zero for WW1 and awfully near Ground Zero for WW2
I’ve never been there, but how about going to De Gaulle’s birthplace?
Visit a World War One battle field and cemetery. The Ypres salient is just a few miles north.
(re the French bashing joke above – the author of it obviously doesn’t realize that 13 x’s as many French as Americans died in WW1 – a huge % of the population. Try finding even the tiniest village without a memorial listing dead)
Will –
You misunderstand me. I’m quite aware of the devastating toll WWI took on France. I wasn’t referring to WWI, and I was being serious about not making a surrender joke. (As you pointed out, it would be nonsensical in relation to WWI).
I was making a genuinely admiring reference to WWII. In the aftermath of D-Day, the Germans shifted troops out of Lille to defend against a British invasion through Belgium. While the French resistance is often overcredited, the resistance of Lille managed to retake most of the city before any allied forces arrived. And they did this despite knowing that there would be hell to pay if Germany recaptured the city. (After all, the Germans had burned large portions of Lille in WWI for the much lessor offense of “tricking the Germans into thinking we’re better armed than we are.”)
I would recommend the Palais des Beaux Arts as well.
Try Lillet, of course.
I haven’t seen it myself (so this is opinion of friends on whom I rely) but apparently there is a fine example of a very bad urban planning by Rem Koolhaas in Lille.
http://www.0lll.com/archgallery2/oma_lille_grand-palais/
Many years ago, when I was there for a week or so, I enjoyed a restaurant called “Paul’s.” I make no warranty as to its quality today.
1. Go to the Furet du Nord (Grand Place aka. Place du Général de Gaulle): the best bookshop in the region.
2. Go and have a coffee and some croissants in one of the Paul’s bakery shops. You find at least three of them in the city center.
3. Walk through the old part of the city. There are zillions of little restaurants and nice shops. Have a plat du jour. Try some of the local beers.
4. Visit the recently finally finished Notre-Dame de la Treille Cathedral. The glass rose window based on the theme of the Resurrection is the work of the painter Ladislas Kijno. The iron doorway is by the Jewish sculptor Georges Jeanclos.
5. I would recommend the Fine Art Museum (Palais des Beaux-Arts). It’s collection is far form spectacular, but it really has some nice classics: Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Delacroix.
6. If you have the time, go to Roubaix. You can get there by metro. Visit La Piscine – Museum of Art and Industry. It used to be an art deco swimming pool. Now it is a museum for applied arts (drawings, textiles and ceramics) and fine arts (19th and 20th Century paintings and sculptures).
7. Don’t forget to stop at the cafetaria at La Piscine. It is ran by Pattisserie Meert. Very good cakes and stuff.
8. Make sure you see “Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis” before you go to Lille. A very nice comic French film -they actually exist- about a post office official banned to the north, who falls for the charm of les Ch’tis (as the Northerners are called).
Have Fun!
Have an assignation with Lille Marlene.
Hookers.
Alan of Lille was an important thinker of the 12th century, comparable to the more well-known Joachim of Fiori.
(1) The basement of the Palais des Beaux Arts, where they have 19 scale models of French towns fortified by Vauban
(2) Lunch at L’Huîtrière restaurant, 3 Rue des chats bossus.
I second Patrick’s comments. Here are my own views
La Piscine in Roubaix is a nice art museum. Crown jewel of Lille Metropole. Must do.
Night life in vieux Lille and Rue de Gand is fun and worth it.
Try an “Estaminet” down there–there are many- for local French/Flemish fare. Famous dishes include carbonnade, tarte de maroilles (not for the faint of heart), flamkuche (flemish pizza!) don’t forget the local beers similar to Belgian beer.
Tripostale is apparently a more modern museum. Never been there
Aux moules-is a restuarant where you can eat a pot of mussels and a plate of fries if you feel like that sort of stuff.
That should keep you busy. PS on your way to Roubaix by metro don’t forget to punch your metro ticket (compostez) in the little machines around.
If there’s still time, here’s my suggestion:
I whole-heartidly agree with Patrick Stouthuysen, particularly point number 6 on visiting Roubaix. The last 25 pictures from this album are all from a visit to that little, post-industrial and charming city: http://picasaweb.google.com/kmuehmel/TravelsLille#
In Lille proper, I would suggest the Marché aux livres (the book market) which is held in the Vielle Bourse (the Old Stock Exchange) in the center of the city. An interesting collection of new and used books, post cards, etc… in a wonderful setting. Here’s more info, in French: http://www.mairie-lille.fr/fr/Vie_economique/halles-marches/#11
Key info: Open every afternoon, Tuesday to Saturday. Metro Line 1, stations Gare Lille-Flandres or Rihour.
Safe travels, and enjoy!
While the French resistance is often overcredited, the resistance of Lille managed to retake most of the city before any allied forces arrived. And they did this despite knowing that there would be hell to pay if Germany recaptured the city.
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