La Belle Histoire, Lille

Advantages: great position.Everything in walking distance
Disadvantages: our room was small

...The hotel is in the old part of Lille. everything is in walking distance, even the Eurostar station (only about 5-10 mins on foot) The hotel was clean and the staff were friendly. The breakfasts had no 'hot' dishes, just lovely French sticks, croissants, pan au chocolate , the usual cold meats & cheese, cereals etc. Tea & coffee out of those big flask things! No bar. The bedroom was cleaned daily as was the shower/toilet / bath. The only downside was the size of the room - it was really small. Hardly any room between the side of the double bed and the patio doors. My wife & I are not big people, but it really was cramped. There was a balcony , but not a great view (into the next building), though you could see the imposing cathedral which is just behind the hotel. We were unlucky with the room size, others in the hotel were bigger.... Read review

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Advantages: Near London by train, cosmopolitan feel, excellent transport connections, eating out, plenty to see
Disadvantages: Dog poo

...in Lille, you go for a stroll in the city centre and find yet another Sunday food market, this time at the end of picturesque Rue De la Monnaie, in Place Du Concert. Somehow, the combination of the words ‘market’, rue’, and ‘end of money’ seem particularly apposite. This really is the place to get cheese, whereas the Wazemmes market was equally suitable for getting your mobile unlocked, buying ‘three lighters for 1€’ or having your name sculpted from silver wire. Other shopping can be broken down into three categories. Larger stores, like ‘Printemps’ can be found in Rue Nationale, which has a kind of Oxford Street feel to it. You can stroll the lanes of the old quarter gawping at the watches, jewellery, expensive clothes (mind you, I’m the guy who thinks that anything not from Matalan is expensive) and stylish knick-knackery. The streets... Read review

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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... Read review

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