Lille Things to Do – Attractions & Must See

Lille Things to Do

Near the border with Belgium, Lille is a charming university town in the North of France. The city retains a lot of charm from the 17th century, especially in its architecture, plus other things to do.

Notre Dame de la Treille

This is a Gothic Revival style, and the most striking aspect of the church building is very modern, but also very simple, grey section, where the façade evokes the Gothic Revival style with sleek lines similar to the silhouettes of large windows.

The central part of the facade contains a lancet structure 30 meters high, covered with 110 white marble plates of 28 millimeter thickness, all supported by a metal structure. This unique construction gives the interior of the cathedral its surprising, and comforting pink-orange glow. The rose window that the pointed arch tops has a diameter of 6.5 meters and a classical resurrection theme.

This very impressive church  is located north of the center of Lille. Construction of the structure began in 1854 and was completed in 1999, due to the interruption of wars and financial problems. In time, the cathedral became a beautiful piece of architecture, and is definitely worth a visit.

Palais de Beaux Arts

Lille’s main art gallery, the Beaux Arts Museum, is said to be second only to the Louvre in Paris. The interior of the building is light and spacious and very uncrowded, allowing visitors to move easily through the galleries. The galleries house paintings which show European art from the 15th to the 20th century, including important works by Reubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Delacroix, Pradier and Rodin. After enjoying the galleries, relax in the delightful cafe overlooking the unusual water feature in the courtyard and the mirrored external walls of the extension.

Lille Opera House

Opera de Lille is a neo classical opera house built between 1907 and 1913, and officially inaugurated in 1923. It replaced the previous opera house which was destroyed by fire. Today the Opera House offers a busy and dynamic program of events, all of which are listed on their website. When the Lille opera house was renovated from 1998 to 2003, they took the opportunity to install new seats that were staggered to improve visibility of the stage.

Editor’s Note: The information contained on this page was compiled using real traveler reviews about things to do in Lille.