Visit Lille · Vieux-Lille
Vieux-Lille on foot
One of the most coherent old centres in the North — a quarter where you happily get lost, a quarter of an hour from Maison La Vesée.
Cobbled lanes, gabled Flemish façades from the 17th and 18th centuries, independent shops. Vieux-Lille is walked on foot, with no set route, and half a day is enough to grasp its spirit.
The streets to walk
The rue de la Monnaie is the quarter's backbone: restored façades, designer boutiques, and the Hospice Comtesse partway along. It opens onto the place aux Oignons — its real name, not a tourist invention — lined with gabled houses, one of the most photographed corners of Lille.
The rue Esquermoise is the shopping street: chocolatiers, bookshops, and Méert, the patisserie founded in 1761. The rue de Gand, livelier, is renowned for its many restaurants — one of the quarter's addresses for dinner. All around, the Îlot Comtesse and the adjoining lanes lend themselves to aimless wandering.
The stops worth the entry
The Hospice Comtesse, a 13th-century hospital turned museum, is worth the hour, if only for its vaulted ward. A few steps away, Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille cathedral surprises: a contemporary façade in translucent marble, set on a neo-Gothic building, that glows from within at nightfall. At the edge of the quarter, the Vieille Bourse and its afternoon book market close the walk on the Grand'Place side.
Where to stop
Vieux-Lille concentrates the estaminets and the good tables. At midday, a welsh or a carbonnade in a lane; in the afternoon, a waffle at Méert or a coffee in one of the quarter's bookshop-cafés. In the evening, it's one of the liveliest areas in the city.
From Maison La Vesée
Half a day in Vieux-Lille pairs well with an afternoon of rest at the boutique residence: the walk in the morning, the pool or the spa after. As the quarter is pedestrianised and parking nearby is difficult, the park-and-ride and the metro, or the car left at an underground car park in the centre, are the simplest options.
Frequently asked questions
In practice.
How long to visit Vieux-Lille?
Half a day is enough for the spirit of the quarter: the main streets, a museum, a stop. A full day if you add the Grand'Place and some shopping.
Is Vieux-Lille pedestrianised?
Largely. Walking is the only real way to discover it. Don't try to find a parking space there: better an underground car park in the centre or the metro.
What else is there to see nearby?
The Grand'Place adjoins it, the Palais des Beaux-Arts is fifteen minutes on foot. For a full day, see the one-day itinerary.
For a full day, see Lille in a day. For the museums, see the museums of Lille and its metropolis.
