Give Lille a try!

Have you read how a spent my day in Lille last month? If not, read it here and here :-)



Brioche Doree's display

If you only have few hours in Lille do the following:

1-      Get a guide.

2-      Try a Brioche Doree tartelette in the Euralille centre.

3-      Stop at St Maurice church to admire the architecture and the glass work.

4-      Checkout Pylones with it quirky household goods

Pylones

5-      Go to Rihour and get the tour bus opposite the Office of Tourism.

6-      Visit the Grand Place.

7-      Visit the Chambres au confitures and buy something just to watch the staff wrap it up.

8-      Have lunch at the Barbue D’anvers just because of the setting and the name.

9-      Have a tea at Meert, but watch the queue and it is posh.

10-   Have an apero at Le Square d’Aramis just to chill and it is a cool brasserie.

11-   Seat at a café terrace opposite Lille Flandres station to watch the world go by.



Get a pot of Jam

12-  Have dinner at Comptoir des Latitudes (for under 30 Euros) if you've got time or try Le Barbue D'Anvers for regional food.

13-   Stroll back to Lille Europe station to catch the Eurostar back.



Have dinner here

Make sure you enjoy the day fully, take your time, but do not forget your return train time. Come back to London with a smile! When your colleagues ask on Monday “so how was your week end?” do not hesitate to throw every single details in to make them jealous.

£100 per person should be enough to enjoy the day unless you do some shopping in Carrefour (Wine). Check out the previous post to see more links.

Book you Eurostar ticket in advance and it should cost £69.00 return pp.

Thank you for reading!

See you soon... I will be taking you to BARBADOS with Me! Sea sand sun and fresh fish!

One day in Lille - France Part 2

Thank you for checking in to part two of our visit to Lille. To read part 1 click here.

Last week, we stopped at the Palace of Rihour. So, Further up and to the right of the Palace, you will see the Theatre du Nord on the Place du General de Gaulle. To the left of the “Place” there is another load of shops including a Virgin and a FNAC, both music shops where cool young people here still like to hang out. At the other side of the “place” we can find many artisans’ shops including this little beauty called “La Chambres aux Confitures” where you can find the most unimaginable jam mixes and combos. The one I wanted most was “Abricots & Ecorces d’oranger” literal translation is apricot and orange tree bark (I am still wondering how it tastes). “La Chambre aux Confitures” is such an original idea and everything displayed can be tasted before buying. The smallest jam pot cost €4.50. And every purchase is carefully wrapped and presented like on the picture. Find further details here.

Opposite “La Chambre aux Confitures” I found this amazing passage way and was curious to find where it lead. Believe it or not, there are 4 restaurants in this corridor (called Rue St Etienne) including one called le Barbue d’Anvers hidden in an inner court and covered by foliage. This place just that just seem to scream “here we serve regional food”. Unfortunately, when I showed up they were closed and preparing for evening service. Well, It will be for another time and summer day preferably. But do check out the website.

Moving on down the road I found Meert, a very old posh patisserie and salon de the… looked a bit like the lunch area of Harrods food court. It was Goûter time when I got there, but the queue made me give up on tasting something there on this occasion. I moved on to Rue Basse right opposite Meert to a restaurant brasserie called Le Square d’Aramis which isn’t listed in the guide. I needed to seat a have a glass of rosé and this just seemed to be the best place for it. L’Aramis is a really cool and trendy place to be. It was nearly empty when I checked in, but, I felt immediately really relaxed at the sight of the porch installed on top of the bar (not joking) and the rough unvarnished floor boards and also the slightly je m’enfoutist staff (I thing Brits call it the careless shrugs?). I loved it there and if was in London it would be a great hang out for my friends and I. Check out the video on the website  look above bar to see the porch…

Still dehambulating in the streets of Lille, I stumbled on Paul’s boulangerie and stopped to buy a pear Armandiere it is unbelievable how much I have missed these things… I eat it while walking (not very lady like). As time for dinner approaches, I wander back to place Charles de Gaulle to find a restaurant off the “place” at Rue Faidherbe. The restaurant is called Comptoir des Latitudes. What an odd name for a restaurant. See my thoughts about this restaurant on one the next posts. I had Foie Gras… J

As the night falls on Lille, I head back towards the station not without having stopped for the last time in Brioche Doree to have my dessert and coffee. I opt for an Eclaire Paris-Brest filled with a cream mixed with crushed almond.

The Euralille the shopping centre is still open and this time the shoppers are office workers buying their last Christmas gifts. As I walk on the Esplanade towards the train station to collect my luggage and catch the onwards high speed train (TGV) to Chateauroux, I spot another building mentioned on the guide; the Tour de Lille shaped like Skiing shoe... I say, it look like an L…

Well that was a full day I am knackered. There is so much more to do in this town and in order to fully enjoy it in a relaxed manner, one must plan a full week end in Lille. I hope that what you will do. And give Paris a little break…

Next week check out my recommendations list for Lille.

Thanks for reading...

One day in Lille - France

Today is the last Friday before Christmas and I am heading to Chateauroux to spend Christmas at my sister’s where the rest of the family will be joining us from Paris, Marseille, Grenoble and Lyon. I have planned to spend a full day in Lille before taking the TGV to Chateauroux.

The Eurostar left St Pancras at 6.30am on this Friday and we are planning an arrival in Lille a little before 9.30am.

Lonely Planet guide

As the Eurostar heading to Bruxelles leaves Lille Europe in France, I look up and see a beautiful sun shining on a blue sky over Lille.
My first stop is the Relay shop in the train station: Yes, I had planned to spend the day, but I have yet no idea about what I can find in this “Ch’tis” country.  In the guide that I find, there are recommendations for places to eat, see and most importantly a map of the town.

Having taken few minutes to consider the guide, I leave my luggage at the “consigne” as I want to be hands free for the next 9hrs or so… to leave the luggage at the locker up to 10 hours only costs €5.50.

Armed with my guide and map the first pit stop is bien sûre Brioche Doree where I order a mini tartelette and a black coffee. I enjoy that tartelette so much that I nearly do a Meg Ryan there and then. Find the London Brioche Doree at 29-31 Picadilly.

Euralille view from Lille Europe station

Next was a tour of the shopping centre adjacent to the Lille-Europe station it is called Euralille (www.euralille.com). Here you will find Carrefour (for the vino stash and French confectionaries), you also find Celio for the best men’s jeans you will ever find, Yves Rocher for your natural beauty products and even a Hollister (I don’t like them). You will also find in Euralille a New Look, Zara and H& M with a French twist. In France, generally, all seems better presented; even the Chinese take away shop looks like a gourmet … it is all about presentation here.
By the time I have toured the shopping centre and reconnected with everything I am missing about France, I have already spent 3 hours in the centre.
 

Lille Flandres train station

Coming out on the other side of Euralille, you will find yourself in the centre of Lille with to your left the Tripostal, one of Europe’s biggest exhibition centre (free entry from Wed to Sunday).
The Tripostal is attached the station Lille Flandres and the Grand Place. Having shoved my guide back into my bag, I decided to walk 'au gres du vent' and aimlessly when I stumbled on the back of Eglise St Maurice about 5 minutes away from Lille Flandres. The church building which seems to have been built on a whole street is such a beautiful edifice that it would be a crime not to get inside to have a look... I did. According to the guide, this church was built in the 14th century and the stain glass work was all done by a local specialist…

Back of St Maurice

Front of St Maurice

On the other side of the church, opposite the Parvis St Maurice there is a pedestrian shopping area littered with restaurants, original shops like Pylones where every household item has a Manga version. Just click on the link to have an idea. The shop here on 18 Rue the Bethunes is very tiny but be careful with your credit card as you may spend on stuff you DO NOT NEED. Right opposite Pylones you will find a Gallerie Lafayette (yup, like in Paris, you will find everything you want in Lille).

Not far from this pedestrian shopping area, you will find the Metro Rihour which is one of the popular recommended stops in Lille. Here, you will be spoilt for choice if you want to eat something. A few of the guide’s recommended restaurants are situated here, so is the office of tourism and a war memorial to the dead of the 1^st and 2^nd world wars. Both the tourism office and the memorial are part of the same building and are said to have been built on the vestiges of the Palace of Rihour… You must go inside (free access) to really see that it was part of the palace. It is in the Office of Tourism that you will also pay for your ticket if you are planning to have a guided tour of the town. The tour cost €12 and lasts 55 minutes. See you next week for Part 2.

Next stops are: Theatre du Nord, a Jam specialist, two snack stops and a restaurant for dinner.

A bientot!