When everything was finalized and we got the calendar for the trip, I was eager to try and plan a day trip for myself. We’ve all heard that travel within Europe is super cheap, and I even wrote about that concept in my first blog, but how does it work in reality? Even with a French IP address, I decided that a round trip train ticket to Brussels, London, or Geneva was going to cost more than I wanted to spend, so I started looking for domestic French destinations. I severely underestimated how large France is (apparently it’s the largest country in western europe) and soon realized exactly how far southern France is from Paris. Eventually, I settled on Lille!
From photos, Lille looked like a very Flemish city without the border crossing, and it was! While I was in Lille I admired lots of architecture, new and old, and used probably all of their public transit options. I visited the Lille Cathedral, which has a 20th century façade on a 19th century gothic building (this was actually one of the attractive buildings I saw in Lille, the new façade does not work well). I also visited the main square, which is one of the prettiest and oldest town centers I’ve ever seen. I visited the 17th century citadel, which is still in use by NATO rapid response forces, and is also located in a park with a zoo and a children’s amusement park that I was very envious of. Old and new architecture shares much of the same space in Lille, resulting in some very obvious and sometimes jarring but well-done hybrid situations.
To get to Lille, I used a train that covered 130 miles in just over an hour without stops. Then when I was in the city, I decided to buy an unlimited 24 hour day pass and try their tiny metro after walking for over an hour, and it worked perfectly. Finally after dinner, I caught the bus to Gare Lille Flandres using the same transit pass and got to see some of the city that I missed while also giving my feet another break. I can now say I’ve used the metro in a mid-sized city which is something I’ve never even done in the US!
Lille was the perfect day trip even though I made a few mistakes along the way (like sitting in the wrong seat on the way there). I ate oysters and pastries, and it was extremely French, but a nice change from Parisian life. People spoke English less so I got to practice my French, especially with the owner of the oyster restaurant who attempted to make small talk with me with some assistance from Google Translate! I visited both the touristy and wealthier sections of Lille as well as the poorer, immigrant neighborhoods of the city, so I really feel like I got a true Lille experience.
It is interesting to see how you can go pretty much anywhere in France and find something interesting, especially if you’re into history (since France has more than enough history to spare). It just goes to show how much France cares about preserving history and maintaining it. Meanwhile, in the US, you can find roadside attractions like the Giant Hotdog Sculpture in Michigan, which I think is equally, if not more important, than all of French history.