Christmas in Lille

By Elizabeth Johnstone

I had only ever seen Lille out of the Eurostar window en route to Brussels but, in December 2017, we had a great overnight break at this unfairly neglected destination. My train into London runs into Kings Cross Station from where it is a few steps across the road to St Pancras International. The Eurostar train left on time at 10.58 and, less than an hour and a half later, we arrived at our destination.

Lille is the fourth largest urban conglomeration in France, with an ultra- modern Metro system. It operates the “Crit-air” scheme where your car requires a “clean air” sticker. Its charm for the visitor, however, lies in the historic old town. From the Lille Europe Station and the Euralille commercial centre opposite, it is only about 10 minutes walk to “Vieux Lille”. We stayed at the Ibis Styles Lille Grand Place, booking direct with Eurostar for rail tickets and then with Booking.com for accommodation (not forgetting to go in through Topcashback.com!)

The hotel was clean, cosy and convenient for the sights. Our plan was to meet up with a Belgian Mensan friend for whom Lille in France was nearer than Brussels in Belgium. We had a pleasant stroll round, as I took photos of shop displays and building façades. One negative was the number of homeless people and beggars, often with suspiciously drowsy small children lying with them. After a cup of tea, we parted ways and my husband and I braved the Christmas Market. It is enormous, with 80-odd stalls. I’d read mixed reviews online, but I found it cheerful and seasonal.

 We regrouped at the hotel then set out for pre-prandial refreshment and a bite to eat. The plan was to head for the rue de Gand which is effectively the restaurant street. Unfortunately, everyone else in Lille had the same idea. We fought our way into a lively local bar Au Gand'Brinus where the barman gave me advice about speciality brews. Note: do not talk about Belgian beers in Flanders. We then over-optimistically set off down the street for dinner, only to be told “désolé” time and again.

Eventually, our noses pressed against the windowpanes of the Estaminet de Gand, we saw two girls preparing to leave and we pounced. It was a typically small and crowded restaurant featuring local cuisine. My husband had the hearty beef casserole carbonnades flamandes and I had a “welsh” which is a variation of a Welsh rarebit made with industrial quantities of pungent local cheese. A chicory-flavoured crème brûlée rounded off my sweet-toothed husband’s meal. Perfectly pleasant, but next time I would definitely book a restaurant of my choice.

As we walked back to the hotel, it started to rain.  By the next morning,  rain had turned to snow, and it was not too pleasant walking to the station. We intended to spend time in the Euralille shopping centre before crossing the plaza to the Gare Lille Europe.

The jovial security guard at Carrefour was used to travellers like us walking round with half-empty suitcases and “locked” ours shut with a plastic tag which the checkout lady had to open with scissors. French hypermarkets are not normally open on Sundays, except for the month of December, something to bear in mind if your city break involves food shopping. And it must, if you go to France!

The Eurostar was 10 minutes late, but the real problems arose back in London where numerous trains in and out of Kings Cross were cancelled or delayed because of the heavy snow. We got off lightly compared to air travellers and motorists. As a matter of principle, I made a small “delay repay” claim. I hope all readers do so, too! 

Lille was a great destination. I look forward to my Flemish beer on a summer evening in the old town before heading off to my (reserved!) table in the rue de Gand.

First published in VISA 137 (February 2018)