A Day in Lille

Everyone loves a bargain, even more so if that bargain comes in the form of a weekend getaway. I am no different, so when Eurostar launched their latest sale, I took full advantage as it would be wasteful not to! I spent a little time looking through the options and deciding what I wanted from a getaway, how long I wanted to have a break for, whether I truly needed another holiday so soon after the Christmas break and whether or not I should save some of my holiday days for later in the year. In the end, I opted for a day trip to Lille. I've been to Paris before, and would gladly go again, but it's a bit much to squeeze into a day with travel included, and having only ever passed through Lille before I was curious as to what wonders it would hold.

Lille is a quaint and quiet little town, it was peculiarly quiet for a Saturday, perhaps it was due to the weather, but as I arrived around 10.30 in the morning I had assumed that people would be up and about by then. It did of course get busier as the day went on, but compared to larger cities there was nowhere near as large and bustling crowd. However, as I am not particularly fond of the hustle and bustle of city life, Lille was just perfect for me, with enough people to greet as I strolled through the winding streets and never ending park paths, it definitely made for a refreshing change of pace.

I prefer to do a little bit of research before going anywhere, to be doubly sure that I am taking full advantage of my time in a new place, but also not to be too prepared that I don't leave any room for surprises or exploration. I pulled together a quick itinerary from travel websites and recommendations to set myself up for a packed yet relaxed day:

High-level Itinerary

• La pharmacie
• La Vielle Bourse
• Grand Place
• Meert
• Citadelle de Lille
• Shopping in Vieux-Lille
• Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral

Lille in under a day

Why was a pharmacy the first stop on the itinerary? Because it was on the way from the train station to the town centre? That helped, but it was mostly because La Roche Posay products are ridiculously cheap in France when compared to the cost at home, so it was a very important part of the trip and not to be hurriedly visited at the end of the day. I've found, over years of trying various brands, that their products are the only ones that don't cause some sort of irritation to my skin, and some even help with an eczema flare up if I have an allergic reaction. So, to me at least, this was a very necessary stop on the itinerary. It did however mean that my "pack-light" plan was immediately derailed by my own inability to say no to a bargain. I also understand the irony of spending £35 each way for a ticket from London to Lille immediately negates the savings made on skincare products, however, it is the principle that counts. 

Approaching the centre of town, the first sight is la Vielle Bourse. From the outside it is an ornately decorated building which feels almost too beautiful to be part of a casual Saturday stroll. As I walked through the entrance I understood why this was a consistently recommended attraction. Emerging into a courtyard filled with stalls, and people leisurely browsing through leather bound books, intricate maps, and art deco prints to name a few. There is something strangely nostalgic about old bound books with yellowing pages and their distinctive book smell, it feels almost homely to browse through slightly faded world maps that I could imagine once hung on the wall of an explorers study. Then to mix that in with the ever so slightly more modern decorative prints, with more than one wine based pun, and piles and piles of magazines and extracts from newspapers. If art or literature are the vibes you wish to emulate in your home or style, them coming here with an extra suitcase is a must.  If I had the wall and cabinet space I would have picked up more than I could carry! 

After walking around the courtyard to ensure I had visited each of the stalls, the tiny amount of rain that had started to fall from the sky had called it a day, so it was safe to carry on to the next stop. The exit emerges straight into the Grand Place, and it is very clear to see that it is still Christmas in Lille. Even past the twelfth day of Christmas and well into January the tree is still up, the mulled wine cabin is still there, even the carousel and Ferris wheel. With all of that, and the fact that it snowed as soon as I left the train station, I had almost forgotten what time of year it actually was, I suddenly felt overly festive again and was ready to sing along to Christmas songs and walk around town tightly clutching onto a hot chocolate for warmth. A part of me also wonders what would be here on a normal day, it is such a vast space that if it were empty I worry that the very heart of the town may feel hollow. The same can of course be said for all town centres which host some sort of Christmas market, but I find these thoughts only cross my mind when I am in a new place. 

It's only when you are actually in a new place that you realise that your perceptions based on a map are completely inaccurate. I had planned to have a little wander between the Grand Place and the pre-planned coffee stop, but this was very short lived. There were a handful of independent shops, chocolatiers, boutiques, trinket shops, but all too soon I arrived at Meert. Not that this was in any way a bad turn of events, it was only very sudden. This is a cafe and take-away shop hybrid, that comes more than highly recommended, and after visiting there myself I can see why. I had a quick peek into the shop to see what was on offer and had to remind myself more than once that I cannot buy every piece of chocolate or every cake or waffle that I see because it is beautifully decorated. It took every ounce of restraint in my being to turn around and head into the cafe to try what I had really come here for. Here, I failed, I had planned to visit Meert with the intention of having a coffee and trying their famous filled stroopwafles, but I was tempted away by an absolute bargain. Twelve euros for a selection of mini patisseries and a coffee, which even came with a chocolate on the side, it was the perfect afternoon treat. As I sat, tasting my way through each of the treats, I thought to myself that for this alone I would return to Lille, maybe when the sun comes out a bit more though. 

After having eaten more pastries and cakes than I had previously thought possible, it was time for a walk. There is a word for this in Italian, and I wish there was one in every language because I am fast becoming a fan of la passeggiata, granted this was not an evening stroll but the concept remains the same, of wandering through town at a leisurely pace after a meal. Now, I am not a town girl, so even though Lille has a relaxed pace and calm atmosphere I still found myself drawn to taking my afternoon walk in the park. So I went to the parc de la Citadelle, which is a park surrounding a pentagonal citadel, which is a historic monument that is now used by the military so it's not really somewhere one can pop in and quietly explore anymore. Nonetheless, not to be outdone by this minor setback, I set off on a hexagonal loop of the park. As with most parks there are people jogging, walking dogs, going on a stroll but one different here is that there is a small lake around the citadel (possibly originally a moat) and as I followed the path every now and again I would happen across people fishing. I wish them all the success in the world, although I have no idea what they are hoping to catch as there doesn't seem to be much of a current, and not to put a complete downer on their hopes but the lake was frozen over in large stretches. I marvelled at this because I have never seen a body of water larger than a puddle frozen over, I didn't even feel it was that cold to walk around in yet there it was a frozen lake with ducks hovering on the edge bravely diving under the icy water. I could gladly spend hours exploring every twist and turn in a park or garden, however, I must make sensible choices as I will only be here for a day, as such I headed back towards the town. 

Lille is very close to the border with Belgium, and this becomes more evident as you wind your way through the streets of Vieux-Lille. The architecture is more similar to that seen in Brussels or Bruges than in Paris, and there are a variety of languages spoken there too. Poor assumption on my part that I could practice my French with everyone I spoke to. Designer shops are still in their January sale period, brasseries are welcoming in crowds, various retailers of trinkets, chocolates, and of course patisseries are becoming more popular as the sun goes down (horribly early even for this time of year) and as more people appear and the street lights slowly turn on, dusk settles and there is a new charm to the town. One that makes me wonder if Lille on a Saturday evening would suddenly come to life.

Officially, the pre-planned itinerary ended there, but my reluctance to let go just yet encouraged me to purposefully make a wrong turn and stumble across a cathedral. As with the rest of town, the Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral is still very much in a festive mood with a nativity scene at the centre and a bright star lighting up the doorway, almost beckoning you inside. I never know how to act when visiting a church or cathedral, there is almost always one to visit in any major European city, to me it feels disrespectful to take pictures inside, regardless of how beautiful it may be, but is also feels wrong to pretend that I am overly pious. So I have taken to quietly and slowly walking around the pues, taking in the splendour of the architecture at what I hope is deemed a polite pace. 

Sadly, after this minor detour it really was time to go, off to the Eurostar terminal it was. It's on the small side, aren't they all but this one does not have a lot to offer so arriving early isn't the wisest move, but thankfully Lille is equally compact so there was no need to rush and get there ahead of schedule. 

Travel Tips

Lille is most definitely achievable in one day, with the time of my trains as I live outside of London and was trying to be a bit on the economical side by not staying a night to get the earliest train, by the time I arrived and left it was more like an afternoon trip, but the majority of the to do list was successfully checked off. Missing a nice restaurant and a museum trip, just means that I will need to keep my eyes open for the next sale, and as such negate the entire point of a sale being to save money by going again anyway! Perhaps next time I will go when it is a little bit warmer, it was lovely and peaceful in January but maybe at another time I would see an entirely different side to the town. 

Roughly every three to four months there are sales on Eurostar tickets, and it would be a shame to miss such a deal, so with my latest tickets bought in December, by March I will be glued to their website checking for the next sale so that I can return, complete my to do list, and treat myself to a selection of cakes once more.