In partnership with Département du Nord
Lille is a festive, dynamic and culturally rich city. All year long, it resonates through major events, like the Braderie de Lille, and in multiple locations to party, enjoy live music, learn and explore.
The braderie is the largest Lille event taking place every 1st week-end of September and bringing thousands of visitors from all over Europe ! For two days, antique professionals and second-hand amateurs flood Lille’s streets for a giant flea market. You can wander in the city for over 100kms to find (and bargain !) rare and random items. Make sure to enjoy a mussel & fries (“moule-frites”) dish, the most traditional symbol of this unforgettable event !
Beer holds a special place in Lille’s identity. For several years now, local, national and international brewers have gathered for a week of events celebrating beer in numerous restaurants, bars and public places. This is the perfect occasion to dive into Lille food and drink culture and explore new places !
This typical Lillois event takes place every 1st of May in Wazemmes district. Its residents are challenged to make the best soup and sell it out on the streets, where everyone mixes up in a casual and festive atmosphere thanks to many concerts and fanfares.
Shout to electronic music lovers ! This indoor festival takes place over 2 nights in October in La Condition Publique, Roubaix, a magnificent renovated building from the early 20th century textile industry era.
Enjoy a fresh and festive September week-end with high quality electronic & techno music outdoor concerts in Lille’s Jardin des Plantes
Located in Aulnoy Aymeries, 1h30 away from Lille, Les Nuits Secrètes is a particularly unordinary music festival attracting more and more renowned artists while keeping its quite secretive identity: besides the typical concerts on stages, some performances take place in hidden locations on the site. Note that this festival is committed to operate in an environmentally and socially responsible way from its very first edition.
Get dancing! In the north of France, we like to get together and celebrate! Whatever the time of year, there are some great festive events waiting for you, with plenty of human warmth.
This international series festival takes place each Fall in Lille. Series aficionados get to discover new productions, meet crème de la crème crews and comedians !
This is the major summer music festival in Northern France, hosted in the Arras Citadel. For more than 10 years, a wide range of very popular international artists have performed in front of over 100 000 visitors each time.
Enjoy Lille’s lively cultural and festive scene any time of the year ! Here are a few places to discover if you’re in town for a few days.
In the LAM, the Modern Art Museum based in Villeneuve d’Ascq, 10kms away from Lille, you will find over 7500 art pieces, from drawings to paintings including Picasso’s, Modigliani’s as well as temporary exhibitions.
Located in the heart of Lille, this museum already amazes visitors from the outside by its sumptuous 19th century architecture. One will find an impressive drawings, paintings, sculptures and ceramics collection, with works from David, Goya, Delacroix, Courbet, Corot or Puvis de Chavanne.
This cultural venue is an architectural gem in a working-class area of Roubaix. The types of events hosted are very diverse and gather people from the whole Lille Metropole.
Art Déco era enthusiasts will definitely enjoy Villa Cavrois, an architectural masterpiece located just 15 minutes away from Lille and definitely worth the trip. The architect Mallet-Stevens is most renowned for building this uncommon house for Paul Cavrois’s family in 1932. It was fully renovated in 2015 and has welcomed visitors since then.
Inaugurated in 2012, this museum was built over one of the Lens coal mining sites. It was designed and thought like a “second Louvre” in symbolizing the willingness to open art to a larger audience. Spread out over the 3000m2 “Galerie du Temps”, you will find about 200 major art pieces from the Parisian Louvre that are regularly changed as well as temporary national and international exhibitions
This former 1930’ Art Déco swimming pool is an architectural gem and an admirable refurbishment success. This Roubaix extraordinary museum attracts art lovers and visitors coming from far away to appreciate its beautiful art pieces and the enchanting light and color reflections on the pool and stained-glass windows.
As a former movie theater, Le Splendid is a cosy and intimate venue located in Lille-Fives hosting shows from up and coming artists and offering to the audience a unique experience in a charming vintage environment.
This much loved music venue is located between Lille’s two train stations. It’s the perfect size to cheer musicians from all over the world and of various styles.
Gare St Sauveur is a central-Lille atypical spot with multiple faces: concerts & DJ sets, exhibitions, restaurant, gardens…
Like lots of large French cities, Lille has its Zenith big concert hall welcoming national and international stars for close to 7 000 spectators.
Lille Metropolis has a nice and diverse natural heritage additionally to its strong industrial history. Here are 3 green spots to picnic, jog & breathe !
The Nord is one of France's most varied and endearing regions. Traditions, landscapes, heritage, gastronomy... not to mention its famous festive spirit! There are 1000 reasons to love and visit the Nord. Here are 59 of them. The 59th is the most important.
It's always a good time to visit the North! But where should you start? With its strong identity, human values and rich history, the North offers authentic experiences, without the fuss.
This park stretches out around beautiful woods and a big lake. Whether walking or biking (or even horse-riding!), it’s a family-friendly and relaxing green patch in Lille Metropolis.
Lille City’s largest park, nicknamed Lille's green lung”, surrounds the remparts of Vauban’s Military Citadel, a zoo and a small recreation park.
This unusual park placed just between Parc Barbieux and Villa Cavrois, offers a mix of nature, architecture and design environment: a very chill and rather underrated spot !
Arras is definitely worth the day-trip: enjoy the splendid Grand-Place square, the WWI Wellington tunnels and some fine gourmet spots like the Arras’in brewery or l’oeuf et la poule restaurant. Adventurers may also go rafting or kayaking in the river nearby !
Parc Barbieux is an old but recently redesigned park in the heart of Roubaix. The diversity of its landscapes with one-hundred-year-old trees, picturesque bridges and water streams is very enjoyable for anyone walking through.
A breath-taking getaway at any season: from Malo les Bains to Le Touquet, stopping by Wissant, Wimereux or Berck sur Mer, you will surely fall in love with the incredible lights & colors, the endless beaches and wild dunes, and the rich natural and cultural ecosystems of this coastline.
Just 1h away from Lille, les Marais d’Audomarois and the town of Saint Omer is a charming little adventure that you should take on board of a “bacove” (a motorized small boat), as this area is often called the Venice of Northern France !
Lille and Northern France is a region well renowned for associating gastronomy and friendliness. You will surely be charmed by the cheerful and warm atmosphere of estaminets and breweries.
Here are some pleasures you just can't get enough of. Like sitting down in an estaminet and savouring a dish from the North. And if you're looking for the first region to be awarded the European Region of Gastronomy label, you've come to the right place! you've come to the right place!
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