A Day in Lille, Capital of French Flanders

Early this December, as I was spending a few days in Paris, I yearned for a change of pace and booked an impromptu day-trip to Lille, in the Hauts-de-France region – a city I had always been fascinated with but never had a chance to visit. Located at the Northern tip of France, Lille is the fourth largest city in France (after Paris, Marseille and Lyon), the biggest city of the Hauts-de-France region, and the capital of French Flanders (near France’s border with Belgium).

Far from the classic-French vibe of Paris, Lille offered the promise of a singular French city with a strong Flemish influence. The quirky architecture, the kind people, the best beer and amazing food… you won’t find any other place like it in France, they say. And that was more than enough to entice me.

It is not well known that Lille is accessible from Paris by a short 1 train-ride (on that topic, many people work in Paris and actually live in Lille). So I decided to book a 1-day return ticket (train from Paris Gare du Nord at 8:00AM and return from Lille Flanders at 5:00PM – you can get your tickets on SNCF, the national train operator). As I arrived in the Lille Flanders train station at 9:00AM, located right the heart of the city, I was all set for spending a great day in Lille. I spent the whole day, map in hand, travelling by foot across the city and was able to hit all the locations I wanted to. Turns out, Lille is perfect for a 1-day visit and the entire city is easily navigated by foot.

Here is the recount of this great day, with all the stops I took (with walking distance in-between them), including the food I ate. I hope you enjoy it, and if you know Lille and/or have more recommendations to share, please write a comment – I’d love to hear them!

Rue Faidherbe and Place du General Charles de Gaule

Right out of the Lille Flanders train station, I walked on Rue Faidherbe– the main shopping avenue leading out of the station – towards the Place du General Charles de Gaule, known to be Lille’s main plaza, in the heart of the city (5 min. walk).  The Place is a great first stop when discovering Lille for the first time, as it is surrounded by the city’s signature architectural style: yellow and orange edifices, with several of them classified as “historical buildings”, including the Theatre and the Old Stock Exchange. The Place is today the site of all of Lille’s main festivals and events. As I was there during an early December morning, a festive Ferris Wheel was there and stalls for the Christmas market were being installed. I took some time to glance through bakery windows and spotted a few Tartes Au Sucre, a speciality of the city and Manelles, the traditional St Nicholas man-shaped brioche buns.

Rue Esquermoise

In search of a breakfast spot, I then walked North on Rue Esquermoise, a street leading to Lille’s Old Center and filled with bakeries and little shops (5 min walk). Lured by all the delicious-looking pastries in the windows, I stopped at the Valerie & Raphael Brier’s Bakery, which has a “Salon de thé” (tea room). I ordered a coffee and a “Brioche au Sucre”, another specialty of the city, which was a billowy brioche bun nestled with sugar chunks – absolutely delicious. The tea room was quaint yet very pleasant, and I loved sitting at my table and enjoying my brioche while looking at the staff working their way through the bakery, grabbing freshly-baked goods from the back and placing them on the stalls.

Quai Wault

After breakfast, I wandered a bit through the Old Town and then walked in a North-West direction towards the Quai Wault (10-15 min. walk). The Quai Wault is one of the two old ports of the city and displays colorful brick-and-blue facades (well worth taking a look at), including the Couvent des Minimes – a former convent build in the typical Flemish style, now reconverted into a luxury hotel.

Wazemmes Market

From Quai Wault, I made my way South towards the Wazemmes Market (20 min walk). This covered market is one of the biggest in France, featuring stalls of food, flowers and other typical market bounties. The Market is a bit on the outskirts of the city’s center, and not located in the most attractive area, but it is definitely still well worth a visit.

Notre-Dame de La Treille

From the market, I walked back North towards the iconic Basilica Notre-Dame de La Treille, Lille’s Cathedral (20 min walk). The architectural style of the basilica is pretty strict and modern (Gothic Revival) and sure contrasts with the rest of the city. The building is considered a national monument and is indeed massive, in style and size. It is well worth taking the time to visit the insides and stare at the stained glass – modern and very unique. Once you’ve visited the cathedral, make sure you also walked around and behind the building. I was pleasantly surprised to find rows of cute pink, white and yellow facades – offering even more contrasts with the religious edifice.

Place aux Oignons

After Notre-Dame de La Treille, I was just a few steps away from the Place aux Oignons (2 min. walk). This is one of the must-sees in Lille. It is a quaint little place surround by pretty bucolic houses (far more sobre in style than the later, typical Flemish style) and tight cobbled streets. You can spend minutes or hours wandering in and around the place and stop in all the little shops. As it was lunch time, I entered an “Estaminet” (what you call bistros that serve typical food and drinks in the North of France), Les Vieux d’La Vieille, located right on the Place aux Oignons. The restaurant’s décor, location, food and service were all great (highly recommended!). I had a delicious “Soupe aux Chicons” for starter (an endive and cream soup) and a scrumptious “Gratin Picard” as a main (a simple crepe filled with ham and endive, and topped with a hefty piece of Maroilles).

Rue de La Monnaie, Place du Lyon d’Or, Rue Saint Jacques and Parc Henri-Matisse

With a full and happy stomach, I kept wandering around the Place des Onions and on the busy Rue de La Monnaie, one of the oldest and most picturesque streets of the city. There, I couldn’t help but peek into the windows of “Aux Merveilleux de Fred” (2 min walk) a renowned pastry shop. In the back, I watched (for several minutes) the pastry chefs making the city’s famous “Gauffres Lilloises” (sugar-and-butter-filled thin waffles, cousins of the Stroopwaffles) and “Merveilleux”, a pastry made of two meringues stuck together with chocolate whipped cream and rolled in chocolate shavings. I then stepped in and bought 2 dozen waffles to bring home (they are sold wrapped in shiny, sturdy paper and can keep for days – so they were suited to travelling a day in my suitcase to Canada). I then continued walking towards the pretty Place du Lyon d’Or (3 min walk) and onto Rue Saint Jacques to reach the quieter and modern Parc Henri-Matisse (10 min walk.)

Maison Méert

As my time in Lille was nearing its end, I couldn’t NOT make a stop at the iconic Maison Méert, one of the oldest pastry shops in the world (10 min walk). Apart from having the most stunning facade and making outstanding chocolates, spiced breads and candies, the pastry house is mostly renowned for making the best thin stuffed waffles in the city. Of course, I had one, and it was in fact everything I wished for… creamy, sugary, soft and fragrant. ( I wished I bought more to take home, but I already had a bag full of waffles from Aux Merveilleux de Fred, which I tasted once home and ended up being absolutely delicious too – so you should visit both places!)

La Vieille Bourse (Old Stock Exchange)  

Lastly, before heading back to the Lille Flanders Train Station, I headed back to the Place du General Charles de Gaule to visit the Old Stock Exchange (known as the “Vieille Bourse”), another landmark of the city (5 min walk). In the form of a quandrangle, the building encloses an inner courtyard that is now inhabited during the day with old antique stalls, old book sellers, flower stalls and chess players. The kind of place where you could linger for hours and just soak in the moment. Sadly, I had to get back to realty and make my way to the Lilles Flandres Train Station (7 min walk), and hopped on my train back to Paris…

Visiting Lille – whether you’re coming from Paris by train for a day or are just in the area – is such an (un)expected treat. It’s a grandiose looking, yet human-sizes city, well suited for spending just a day or two. It’s a city for wandering in the old cobbled streets and taking in the unique Flemish vibe, that surely contrasts with the rest of France. The ochre-brick-walled builidings, reminiscent of the factory-run economy of the area, and the heavily ornamented Flemish-styled yellow edifices offer bursts of colours against the moody grey sky. But thankfully, the food, earthy (for the savory) and sugar-focused (for the sweet) is well-suited for this colder-weather region: comforting, generous and always scrumptious. Last but not least, people from the Hauts-de-France are well known to wear their heart on their sleeve, and just one day of being there was enough to prove to me, it is in fact so very true.

Roundup of places and food to eat while in Lille:

Where to go & what to see: Rue Faidherbe; Place du General Charles de Gaule; Old Stock Exchange; Rue de La Monnaie; Place du Lyon d’Or; Parc Henri-Matisse; Rue Esquermoise ; Place aux Oignons ; Basilica Notre-Dame de La Treille ; Wazemmes Market ; Couvent des Minimes ; Quai Wault

Where to eat: Valerie & Raphael Brier’s Bakery; Les Vieux d’La Vieille; Aux Merveilleux de Fred ; Maison Méert ; Wazemmes Market

What specialities to eat: Tartes Au Sucre; Merveilleux; Sugar-filled Waffles; Ficelle Picarde; Carbonnade Flamande ; Maroille Cheese; Soupe au Chicon ; Waterzooi ; Beer Welsh.