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Lille
Birth place of Charles de Gaulle and at less than an hour from the Channel ports, Lille makes an ideal option for people looking for a visit to France to be more than a few hours in a hypermarket. It needs to be remembered that Lille is a regional city, and as such you will find the real France. The benefit of the Eurostar station though means that we were able to find several restaurants with an English translation of the menu, and without any real difficulty. This means that as long as you go with an open mind, be prepared to relax, a bit of school boy French, you should not really have a problem getting by and enjoying life in Lille.
As a city, Lille for me shows all the benefits of being in France – with its mix of architecture, variety of quality produce, and the simple pleasures of taking time for people (an people taking time for you), shows the French attitude at its best. Lille has actually a better choice of hypermarkets than Calais or Dunkerque, although you will find that there is less concentration on Alcohol sales, on the plus side, there are also no bus tour tourists either...
So what does this city offer for the weekend? Well apart form the obvious of a good meal and relaxed attitude, the city center is full of interesting architecture, museums and galleries. Outside of the city, the battle fields of the First World War are round the corner, as is the Belgian border.
Useful tips for if you are planning to visit Lille include the city pass from the tourist office, giving free access to more than 30 attractions.
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