La Monnaie

Advantages: cheap friendly
Disadvantages: boring after 12yrs

...I lived there for 12 years and loved it most of the time. I found the public transport fast and efficient and cheap. You can get a 10 journey ticket for about £8 and this works on both the Metro and the Trams. The Metro is Brussels is nice and simple running only 3 lines in a star shape. The food was good and there was always plently happening. Rue des Bouchers is a street of restaurants outside many of which are vast beautiful displays of the food they serve and or is in season. Culture from all over Europe converges here and makes for a facinating beautiful and lively city. Places not to be missed are the Grand Place with its vast imposing architechture, the Mannekin Pis which is always good for a laugh and often to be seen in costume, La monnaie opera house with its simple yet beautiful facade. There is so much to do and see here... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Varied culture, fab cuisine, nice people
Disadvantages: Some shops closed Sun and Mon

...Lille in the Esquermoise area, this is perfect if you don't want to take the journey out to Wazemmes for the regular market there. Wazemmes is massive!!! I still get lost when I go there! you can find nearly anything, and the road which leads from Lille centre to the market place usually has all it's shops open until the early afternoon (rue Leon Gambetta) Culture is great! there are loads of museums. I highly recommend Musuem Beaux Arts (place rihour) filled with original pieces, some paintings are over 20 feet in width! There's also the natural history museum, perfect for the children! (just off rue solferino) The Notre Dame de la treille cathedral is beautiful and def worth a visit (this is in Vieux Lille just off rue de las monnaie) the hospice comtesse is also a lovely building to check out, and this is just opposite the notre dame de... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

...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 to aim for here are Rue Basse, Rue de La Monnaie and Rue des Chats... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful