One Day In Lille: Best Things To Do

Lille is one of the significant cities in France and a great day trip from Paris. Lille is famous for its Christmas market, which makes it a perfect destination for families and couples during the winter holiday. Another event that makes this city famous every year is La Braderie de Lille, but Lille has much more to offer than those two significant events.

If you’re looking to plan the perfect one-day in Lille to soak up the atmosphere of this fascinating and lively city, I’ve got you covered!
Here are the six best things to do in Lille; you’ll have the best day trip if you only spend one day!

One Day In Lille: Day Trip Travel Guide

Lille is a big city located in the north of France and is visited annually by people. It is quickly becoming one of the most famous cities in France and a great day trip from Paris and Belgium as it is very close. It is rightfully so, as it has everything that makes it a great city destination: good food, beautiful architecture, and history.

Best Things To Do In Lille France

Grand Place

One of the first things you’ll see in Lille is the emblematic Grand Place and its baroque facade, which is the city’s heart, where you can find restaurants and cafés to enjoy a coffee or a meal.

On the Grand Place of Lille (which might remind you of the main places in Bruges or Bruxelles because of their similar architecture), you can find many areas of interest in the city. This makes it the great city it is today over the years and is part of its history and heritage.

– Vieille Bourse
– Theatre de Nord
– Chambre de Commerde et d’industrie de Lille
– Local newspaper building: La voix du nord

This place is very famous amongst photo amateurs. It has so many beautiful different angles you can take photos from there. It’s also a perfect spot to snap a cute Instagram photo as a memory!

Visit the “Vieux Lille”

The” Vieux Lille”, or the old town of Lille, is probably one of the city’s most famous spots after the Grand Place; it’s well known for its quaint charm and picturesque architecture.
One famous spot there is La Place aux oignons, a cute place only accessible to walkers, with many shops and restaurants.

Here are some great activities you can pre-book to start planning your one-day trip to Lille.

Visit Notre Dame de la Treille Cathedral

The Cathedrale of Lille isn’t your usual cathedral as its modern facade draws a big contrast to the rest of the neo-gothic and more classic built of rest of buildings.

Which sounds weird, right?
It is pretty weird; to be fair, it was not my cup of tea. However, the reason behind this is pretty simple: the construction of the cathedral took place over not less than 150 years; the facade was the last part of the tower to be built in 1999 to replace a simple wall of wood and bricks.

You can find other remains of the city’s history behind the cathedral with the hospice of the Comtesse. A hospital built for the poor and pilgrims in 1237 and held now is a little museum that showcases what it’s like inside a typical flemish house.

Climb up the Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Lille

You can find two belfries in Lille, one on the Grand Place and another a little further. If you want to get a different view of Lille than from the street, you can climb up one of the belfries of the city.
However, at the time of our visit it was unfortunately closed on Mondays when we visited so that we couldn’t climb to the top.

But I thought I would include it nonetheless on my one-day itinerary of Lille, as it is cool to do if you’re visiting the city.

Close by the Belfry, you can see another city landmark, “La Porte De Paris.”
It’s a pretty cool place to take photos; maybe not as cool as the great place or the Vieux Lille, but it’s worth checking out.

Stroll around Parc de la Citadelle

The “Parc de la Citadelle” is located on what was initially a military construction built during the XVIIth century, composed of 5 strongholds and shaped like a star.
This park is full of history and beautiful flowers and offers different paths to choose what interests you the most.
It’s also a great spot to relax away from the city and to enjoy a break during your one day in Lille.

There is also a zoo and a small fair for children there.

You can check the different paths here.

On the way to the park, you can find the Place de la République with a beautiful fountain in front of the stunning Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, the city’s art museum, one of the most prominent museums of France outside of Paris.

Map Of Lille, France

Extra things to do in Lille if you have more time:

Palais Rihour, an old palace built during the XVe century, can also find the office of tourism.
Eat a Vanilla Waffle at Meert, a well-known famous address of a charming café with beautiful decorations. Not to be mistaken with the Belgian waffles; they’re not the same!

Suppose you happen to be visiting Lille for more than one day or want to include this in your itinerary instead of one of the things to do near Lille in this list. In that case, you can check out La Piscine – Musée d’art et d’industrie André Diligent de Roubaix, a museum!

Here’s the catch: this museum is not an ordinary museum; it is built in what used to be a swimming pool. And, in my opinion, and other people, this place looks pretty impressive; if I had heard about it before late in the afternoon, we would have checked it out.

What is Lille famous for?

Lille is renowned for its vibrant culture, highlighted by its exquisite Flemish architecture and bustling Grand Place. Travellers flock to Lille for its delectable cuisine, including the mouthwatering local speciality, the “Welsh” dish, and its charming cobblestone streets teeming with boutique shops and cafes.

Lille is also pretty famous for its Christmas Market in winter; it’s one of the best Christmas markets to visit in France. Another note worthy event in Lille that I mentioned before is “La Grande Braderie de Lille” a huge open flea market that takes places once year and bring people from all around the France looking for great finds and good deals.

This concludes my one day in Lille and the best things to do in Lille if you have only one day to spend there to make the most of your day trip. I hope you have a great time in Lille, just like I did on my day trip from Paris.

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One day in Lille, France Itinerary

✈ Best Travel Ressources To Plan Your Next Trip

✈ How To Find Flights?

– Skyscanner; it is a good comparator for finding the cheapest flights.
– Google Flight is also a good help when it comes to comparing flights.

✈ Where To Book Accommodations?

– Booking.com: plenty of options and ways to get discount the more you book.

✈ Best Sites To Book Activities

My go-to website when I need to book an activity is GetYourGuide when I can’t get a ticket directly on the website or if it’s easier to go through them.

– Klook if you need to book more than just activities and would like to get everything from the same website—(i.e. transport cards, car rental, hotel…).

✈ Other helpful travel resources

– Radical Storage: If you need a place to keep your luggage for an extended period when you travel, I recommend using them. It was a great help when we needed a place to keep our luggage safely while we left the city for a few days.
– TheTrainline: If you love to travel by train like me, then TheTrainline needs to be your go-to website for train travel in Europe. It is very reliant and easy to use.

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Disclaimer: This resources box contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you book anything through my links at no additional cost. These links help me support the blog and generate more content. Happy travels!