Lille & Lens: a weekend trip from Paris by train

Train: 1 h 02 by train
Arrival station: Lille Flandres

See it on the map, with this weekend’s prices and weather

Old Lille, fine arts and La Piscine — a city break 1h from Paris.

The Flemish Grand-Place, old-town lanes, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, estaminets — and the La Piscine museum in Roubaix (metro). The easiest city break from Paris.

Who is it for

Couples : Très bon amoureux : estaminets, ruelles et culture à deux.
Friends : Entre potes : bières, welsh et ambiance flamande festive.
Solo : Solo city-trip : Vieux-Lille, La Piscine et Louvre-Lens.

Things to do

11/19 twin slag heaps
Europe's tallest slag heaps (186 m), free climb, 360° view.
Art deco & mining heritage
1920s rebuilt façades and UNESCO-listed mining villages.
Louvre-Lens
The Gallery of Time, 5,000 years of art, free entry.
Palais des Beaux-Arts
France's second museum after the Louvre: Rubens, Goya, Rodin.
Northern estaminets
Carbonnade, welsh and local beers in Flemish taverns.
Old Lille & Grand-Place
Flemish façades, the Old Stock Exchange, bookshops and meringues.
La Piscine (Roubaix)
Art & industry museum in an Art-Deco swimming pool — by metro.

Coming up

23 September → 18 January · Trop mignon ! L'art du bonheur · Louvre-Lens
7 November → 8 November · Festival Bière à Lille, Grand Final · Gare Saint-Sauveur, Lille
18 November → 30 December · Marché de Noël de Lille · Place Rihour, Lille
20 November → 22 November · Welsh Fest · Gare Saint-Sauveur, Lille
24 March → 19 July · Carthage · Louvre-Lens