48 hours in Lille

Hauts-de-France/2024

For a long time, the city was best known for its warmth and hospitality. As if the capital of Flanders had nothing else to offer apart from the ever-popular braderie, the Palais des Beaux-Arts and a charming stroll through Vieux-Lille. A little tour, and then we're off? The Ch'tis are fighting back, or at least taking their revenge and making their mark on the tourist scene. Culinary first. And cultural too. Struck to the heart by the definitive closure of the city's most emblematic gastronomic restaurant in 2019 - the late L'Huîtrière - the people of Lille are now living in attractive bistronomic territory. If yesterday, good addresses could be counted on the fingers of one hand, today one can be frustrated not to have time to taste everything, if only for a weekend. Following in the footsteps of the media-savvy Florent Ladeyn, head of a constellation of fine-dining establishments, a generation of young, benevolent chefs has embarked on a campaign to defend Northern France's terroir. Bringing in local produce from the surrounding countryside, such as Ferme du Tout Vent in Beaufort or Ferme des Anneaux in Avelin, they provide "food tours", which have become one of the leading tourist attractions. Savoury and sweet dishes alike can be sampled in Wazemmes, where people no longer come just to bargain-hunt for cheap fabrics on Sunday mornings. The district has deconstructed its bad reputation, even becoming a prescribed destination for its halles. A tasteful detour that invites the senses. Combining the past with the present, the Wazemmes market reflects the history of various waves of immigration: Portuguese, Polish, North Africans between the wars, then Turks and sub-Saharan Africans. In Lille, the journey is multicultural, and a delight. The European metropolis has the audacity of culinary pluralism. It has become a playground for street food, with a network of food courts. Fives Cail is now a recommendable district since the opening of the Chaud Bouillon gourmet market. In the same way, it's a pleasure (once again) to stroll down Rue de Béthune, where Grand Scène has resurrected the atmosphere of yesteryear, when friends get together to share a beer (from the North, of course). Since Lille 2004, the European Capital of Culture has never been the same. More than 9 million visitors from all over the world came for the event. This success has profoundly changed the city's image. The people of Lille have turned this success into the Lille 3000 cultural program. In 2025, the watchword will be "fiesta". The perfect pretext for a trip to the North of France to immerse yourself in the contemporary atmosphere of the Tri Postal, a former mail-sorting stronghold converted into an arts and entertainment venue. You can also see at close quarters how the capital of the Hauts-de-France region has mastered the art of turning uninteresting reminders of the past into must-sees, in this case the Saint-Sauveur train station. To do so, we board the metro - the first in the world to use light automatic vehicle technology when the first prototypes were validated in 1975 - leave the heart of the city and approach the Grand Palais district, where Series Mania has been held every year since 2018, a sort of Cannes Festival of series that invites international stars. We've seen Uma Thurman and Marcia Cross there, but also Frenchwomen Karine Viard and Bérénice Bejo. It was here, then, that Lille town hall the Saint-Sauveur freight station into a hybrid venue. The musical line-up is eclectic, as is the culinary program of the Bistrot de St So. Stop by for the latest contemporary exhibition. Sometimes free of charge. Cinephiles will also be in for a treat. It's hard to get bored, especially when every nook and cranny of the northern city is a pretext for curiosity. At L'Hermitage Gantois, for example, if your finances prevent you from staying there, you should know that the Lille Hospital Museum Association organizes a guided tour of the iconic 15th-century building every Tuesday (booking required). Behind its flamboyant red-brick façade lies the beating heart of a city that cared for its patients right here, until its transformation into a prestigious hotel of unostentatious luxury. The high ceilings are matched by contemporary furnishings, such as those by Philippe Starck. The cultural turn thus followed the tertiary turn, when Lille had to recompose its future after the decline of the textile industry in the 1950s, which had marked it out as France's leading factory. A transformation that continues to this day, in line with an urban policy that does not forget to respond to new environmental demands. Things are slowing down in Lille, especially on Saturdays, when a large area of the city center is reserved for pedestrians. Cyclists and scooter owners are also asked to put their feet down. Labelled an innovative and sustainable destination at the beginning of 2024, the capital of Flanders has undertaken a vast greening project, making streets like rue du Molinel more pleasant. It's good to take one's time in Lille, which has clearly become a good student of slow tourism. We're pushing the envelope right up to the gates of the metropolis. No longer do we go there just to make a detour to the Piscine de Roubaix, the famous arts and industry museum with its successful exhibitions. It's also the place to go for lunch or dinner. From Marcq-en-Barœul (Diego Delbecq at Le Rozó, Abdelkader Belfatmi at Le Répu...) to Croix (Félix Robert at Arborescence...) and Lambersart (Christophe Scherpereel at Le Quai, Ismail Guerre-Genton at Empreinte...), the area's towns and cities have become incubators for talented chefs.

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