Advantages: Near London by train, cosmopolitan feel, excellent transport connections, eating out, plenty to see Disadvantages: Dog poo
I?ve now been to Lille three times in the past year or so, each previous time, merely for the day. Only over the last weekend did we stay overnight.
Why Lille? Well, rather like the reason dogs lick their naughty bits, it?s because we can.
Lille is the first main stop in France on the Eurostar/TGV route from the Channel Tunnel ? yes, I know you could get a train that stops at Calais (Fréthun), but that?s like getting out at Bristol Parkway and expecting to be in Bristol!
Gare Lille-Europe arrives outside your train window 1 hour and 40 minutes after London Waterloo International disappears. Stage 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), means that we now get to hurtle through Kent at 186 M.P.H. before slowing to a mere 100 M.P.H. to shrug off the 32 miles of tunnel in a mere 20 minutes.
Doing 'a ton' MORE than even the over ...
BNibbles 07.12.2004 (09.12.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lille (France)
Advantages: Varied culture, fab cuisine, nice people Disadvantages: Some shops closed Sun and Mon
I lived in Lille for 1 year. I went there as part of my degree.
And I must say that I fell in love with the city after just one day.
I lived in the Old part of Lille (Vieux Lille) which is about 2 mins walk from the town centre. It has so much charm! the cobbled streets boast a large variety of boutiques, some of which are privately owned and some of which are widely known brand names such as Hermes, and Louis Vuitton. these can be found in rue de la Grande Chaussée, and rue Chats Bossus.
For some bigger shops you can head off to EuroLille (a very large shopping centre in between the 2 main train stations) it consists of mainly chain stores, and has a huge supermarket called Carrefour. Carrefour has a brilliant seafood section filled with fresh produce, there's also a fantastic 'ready to eat' area where you can usually sample ...
PollyErrington 16.03.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lille (France)
Advantages: Atmospheric French town, easy to reach by train or car Disadvantages: Very noisy on 21st June
Mon dieu! I could have chosen any of 51 other weekends for a short trip to Lille, but, in blissful ignorance, I chose this one, 20th & 21st June.
We set out from London at 3.30 pm last Friday, leaving what we thought was plenty of time for the 110 mile journey to Dover, but, as usual, didn?t make sufficient allowance for the wretched M25. Sitting in an endless traffic jam is not the most relaxing way to start a mini-break and by the time we got to the signpost saying 40 miles to the ferry port but with only 20 minutes left to check-in, it became obvious that we wouldn?t make the sailing we were booked on.
Now, I confess that we did, on those few miles of road where it was possible, exceed the speed limit perhaps by a teensy bit, but in most places it wasn?t an option. We finally drove into the port just 15 minutes before the boat ...
SuzanneW 23.06.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lille (France)
