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Enjoying a sunny micro break… and other things to do in Lille, France

So, I'll be straight up: I was very tempted to call this blog “Surviving a bomb scare and other things to do in Lille, France”, but I thought best not to be too click-baity. However, my trip was plagued by many, many messages asking how I'd even reached Lille, following news that an unexploded WW2 bomb had cancelled ALL Paris-London/London-Paris trains on my day of travel. Thankfully, Lille sits on the Brussels/Amsterdam line; our destination was the only one running that day from the Eurostar terminal at Kings Cross. In fact, it was the smoothest security experience: less than 10 minutes from disembarking my Thameslink to being sat in the waiting lounge.

I was set to be in Lille for less than 60 hours - Friday afternoon to Sunday evening - and had booked it as one final trip abroad before Baby arrives. I was travelling with my friend and former flatmate whom I've taken many trips with (Brussels, Singapore, Faro, Budapest, Copenhagen) - and she was very understanding about my slowness compared to previous trips (and my annoying postnasal drip cough at night!!). Somehow, despite it being early March, we struck a weekend with gorgeous weather, so with our coats left at the hotel and sunnies firmly on our faces, we made our way around the city. 

The architecture 

When people - including our tour guide (more on the tour later) - asked “why Lille?” our main answer was the architecture. That, and “why not” as it's a European city we've never visited before, and so accessible from London. In the time it takes me to get to work from home, I was in Lille from Kings Cross! 

The architecture is gorgeous. There is a real mix of influences, due to the city’s history: predominantly French, Flemish, and Spanish. Many buildings reminded me of Brussels and Amsterdam, as well as other cities. One of the arguably most gorgeous spots we stumbled upon by accident was La Vielle Bourse market. It gave me massive Seville/ Moorish vibes in its look, but was a cute French market, selling everything from prints to old CDs. In general through, most places had bags of character and gorgeous exteriors, such as the Grand Place, Lille Opera, and even just random buildings as we strolled down the street.  

The history 

As a town so close to a country border, Lille has a storied history when it comes to wars, invasion, and revolutions. We learnt a lot about how that impacted the architecture on our tour of the city; for example, a lot of buildings surviving from the Spanish rule were red and yellow. This tour was fab; our tour guide was a local uni student who drove us around in a classic car, with an open roof, for an hour, detailing the city's past - and a little of its present. It was a great way to cover the majority of the city (especially as I couldn't comfortably walk for as long as I normally would on city breaks), and get our bearings. We saw places like Church of Saint-Andre, where Charles de Gaulle was baptised; the most narrow house in Lille; and even the exterior of one of the many army bases. We were surprised to learn that back in the 14th century, the city was much like Venice or Amsterdam in that it was filled with canals. That's why some of the streets still reflect that winding style.

Another historical spot we visited was the Parc de la Citadelle, built in the 1600s in a unique star/pentagonal shape as the city walls. Today, it is a peaceful park, around which we wandered for a good hour or so, admiring the wildlife and the whole expanse. 

In a more modern turn of events, we did the majority of our city exploring on International Women's Day, passing activists in the main square (and putting our French language skills to the test as we discussed what was going on with one of the organisers). It was a great day and being pregnant too made me all the more reflective over just how strong, infallible, and incredible women are…

The food

We had some lovely food during our visit - despite the fact I couldn't devour the French wine or charcuterie, and je deteste le fromage. We stayed at a hotel chain I was familiar with, having reviewed one of their outposts in London a couple of years ago, and on the first night as we were quite tired, we ate here too. Their dinner menu, and mocktails, were actually pretty good - as was their selection at breakfast. That pain au chocolat was FAB. I must say though, that build your own teabag thing? Fun but unnecessary, haha. 

On our first afternoon, we stopped by Les Freres Pinard, where we enjoyed a leisurely couple of hours with wine (for my friend), non-alcoholic gin and tonic (for me), olives, and bread, alongside a fair few rounds of card games. We found that here - as with everywhere - the Lille locals were super friendly!

Another spot we headed to was Tripletta, an Italian restaurant located on a main street of restaurants, Rue de Gand; we sat outside their sister bar, Carmi. I had a wonderful ginger mocktail, and a lovely traditional Napoli pizza (traditional meaning they actually had a no cheese pizza on their menu YAY); although not French, it was lovely to sit alfresco. We did however have a lovely French meal at Campion Brasserie: my stewed beef was gorgeous and rich, served with some delish frites, and again, a delectable mocktail - I must say, I was most impressed by the flavours of mocktails everywhere we ate/drank on this trip.

We were advised to head to Meert, one of the oldest shops in Lille - the building dating back to 1677 - for local gaufres, which were like oblong stroopwafels. They were nice, but I think they needed to be warmer to be really enjoyed. We then spent a lot of our last afternoon alfresco in EARLY MARCH, drinking and snacking on chips and salad, and playing cards. 

I have been pleasantly surprised by Lille as a  European city break. I had worried there wouldn't be a lot to do, but I reckon it is perfect for a full Friday-Saturday, or Friday-Sunday getaway. If I were to return, I would make sure to visit the bar street of Rue de Royale, and also perhaps get an earlier train home on the Sunday - we were booked on the last one - as it really is a day of rest in Lille, with most restaurants and shops closed.

How to day trip to Europe... and other things to do in Brussels, Belgium

"I'm off to Europe for the weekend, dahhhling" sounds like something the Kim Ks of the world would say, right? But what if I said you could one up that with a day trip AND you could do the whole thing for less than £150? Yep, it is totally doable; all you need is a passport and a well-timed Eurostar sale and you're away.

Train travel lends itself more easily to day trips than flights do, and with the Eurostar, you've got direct trains to various locations across France, the Netherlands, and Belgium (and even more options if you’re happy to change). Eurostar often has sales where tickets are far cheaper than heading up north; I took advantage of this and opted for Brussels, as I had not yet been to Belgium.

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Going to a new city for the day may seem quick, but you can pack a lot in without rushing - and you get all the fun of travel without the cost of a hotel or hassle of living out of a suitcase. Here's how to make the most of a day in Brussels (or elsewhere on the continent):

Choose your dates wisely

You'll be governed by the dates of the cheap tickets, but the earlier you book, the better choice you have; we were able to get the first train out and the last train in on a Saturday (which is just as well as my annual leave is spread pretty thin already…) We had such good experiences at both terminals: the staff at the Pret in the morning were super friendly and one even let me off the extra change for my water, so I didn't have to break a larger note, while the one in Brussels in the evening had pedal bikes to charge your phone and a football table to while away the waiting time.

Had we been less impulsive, we would have probably chosen a Saturday later on in the year; Brussels abounds with beautiful parks, such as Jubilee Park, Brussels Park and Elizabeth Park, and it would have been lovely to chill out with a picnic of sweet waffles, salty frites and beer in the warmer weather at one - or all - of them. However, no amount of on-off rain will hinder a Brit, no matter the time of year.

What to pack

I am guilty of pretty much always overpacking for my trips, prepared for all manner events that are unlikely to happen, but going for a day trip means just picking up a (small) backpack or handbag and heading out. Apart from the weather-appropriate gear, such as an umbrella, scarf and gloves, all you need is:

- Passport

- Eurostar tickets

- Money

- Oyster (or travel) card (for getting to and from Kings Cross in London)

- Headphones

- Lipstick (totes essential for me)

Getting around

It's so easy to get from Brussels Midi to the central station: there's a four-minute train or you can hop on the metro (via the ticket machine that has an English option and directions on how to navigate the interface above the screen) for a few stops to De Broukeer, and either change or walk for 10 minutes.

Those who have read my previous travel guide posts will know that I love a city sightseeing bus, and when you're doing a day trip they're an absolute no-brainer. For £20-something (it varies city to city for a 24-hour ticket), you can see the city's top landmarks on a whistle-stop tour, hopping off at the ones you wanna see a little closer, without having to faff about with public transport. All the while, you’ll be getting information through your personal headphones. In Brussels, there are two stops at the central station, one each for different tours. This is the only point where they cross over, so make sure you're on the right one if you don't want to do both lines (which we did easily and had plenty of time for other stuff, but this may not be everyone's cup of tea).

Food and drink

Image: Emily Jenkins

Image: Emily Jenkins

You can definitely do 'top line' Brussels in a day. Of course, you can't see and do everything the art nouveau capital of the world has to offer, but you can get a real taste for the city - something we did pretty literally. The sweet smell of waffles tempts from around the corner, and not in a whimsical way: the city literally smelt sweet AF in a lot of places we visited or streets we wandered down. Our afternoon pit stop was at the Waffle Factory near Grand Place, which was teeming with tourists and locals. I opted for a Brussels waffle with dark Belgian chocolate. It was DELICIOUS and strangely light for such an indulgence.

Earlier in the day, we stopped for lunch at Le Faucon Den Valk, a cosy pub-type joint with an open fireplace. Heeding the advice of some of my colleagues, I opted for mussels (alongside a hot choco) and my flatmate had the onion soup and a beer, and we were both happy with our choices. They weren't the best mussels I've had - this goes to Oslo - but they were pretty good.

Going back to the beer for a minute, the beer scene in Brussels is highly rated and for those who even just tolerate the stuff, it is essential to try on a day trip. Now, I'm not a beer drinker myself, but my housemate is, and we ventured into Poechenellekelder, the most kitsch cool beer house ever. Atmospherically lit, from the ceilings hung puppets, musical instruments, upside-down beer glasses and mannequins, with some tables made from old barrels. Each beer (and there are loads!) comes with its own uniquely styled glass - bog-standard pints this ain't. However, at €4 a pop for really good local beer (according to my flatmate), standard pint prices this is. Recommended is the Brugse Zot.

What to do

Hopping on and off the city sighting bus, we saw a fair bit. The city abounds with Horta-designed buildings, much like Barcelona has a strong Gaudi influence, which are lovely to admire. We hopped off at the European Parliament, where you can take a virtual selfie in the arena at the Visitor Centre, see original pieces of the Berlin Wall (but, ya know, in Belgium) and get as close to the EU as us UK folk can probably get for a while after March...

Ascend the Atomium for a unique bird's eye view of the city, and to observe Mini Europe from above, if you don’t have time to go in, and check out the Manneken-Pis (which is exactly what it sounds like). It's smaller than it looks like in pics and sits behind a small barrier, but is still major lols.

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In the morning, and again in the evening, we stumbled across the Grand Place square with its gorgeous, gold-gilded buildings and Town Hall - they are an absolute must-see. Round off your day with a walk back to the Midi station, so you can experience the city by night, even if only for a short while. In the centre, the way the cobble-stone roads are lit with their overhanging street lights is pretty fairy-tale like, especially with the romantically, art nouveau buildings. On your way back to Brussels-Midi, you'll also pass through a more 'Hackney-esque' part of the city. Be sure to grab some frites for the walk home.

So, there you have it - a full day in Brussels! And, if you're not knackered (and live in London), you'll be back in London before your local pub closes. Shame about the beer here though, eh.