Midweek Breaks on a Budget Part 2

The midweek breaks problem:

You have a week off work coming up soon and you want to take full advantage. Neither of you can afford anything really expensive. With a budget of around £500 between you just what is possible?

Part 2 of a 3 part series of ideas for Midweek Breaks on a Budget Here is the second of 3 ideas that will give you a good break but won’t over stretch the budget. Again I think this one might surprise you!

In Part 1 I explained how you could have a Mid-week Theatre Break in London for less than you might think. Today I’m going to suggest a trip to a bit of France that might not be that familiar. Lille in the north of France is not quite Belgium but it sometimes feels like it. At only 1 hour 25 minutes from London St Pancreas it is much nearer than Bruges or Brussels and Lille is a surprisingly nice place to have a budget mid-week break.

Why have a mid week break in Lille?

Midweek breaks Lille

Lille has a lovely old city centre which is very easy to wander round. There’s a central square, Place du Général-de-Gaulle, locals call it la “Grand’place”. In the middle is  a fountain with a statue of a goddess, “la Grande Déesse”. The buildings are a mix of French and Flemish, very quaint and quite old. Much of the centre of the town dates to the 17th and 18th centuries. You can’t really get lost in the city centre as all roads lead back here eventually.

I loved wandering round Vieux Lille (Old Lille). There are quiet, cobble-stone pedestrian streets, cool designer shops, lots of gorgeous shabby chic, pavement cafes  and a mix of traditional and modern gourmet restaurants.

The modern Cathédrale Notre Dame de la Treille has a lovely little cobbled street behind it with a couple of delightful coffee shops perfect for a little sun and people watching.That’s one of the great things about mid-week breaks, you get to see the city whilst everyone else is just going about their business. This can lead to a feeling of immense smugness!

You can find all sorts of interesting things going on in the city centre. I love wandering round and discovering new, cool things.

One of my favourite places

Midweek breaks Lille

was La Vieille Bourse. In between the two big squares, Place du Général-de-Gaulle and Place du Théâtre, the old commercial exchange has interesting booksellers (old French book covers are soo chic!), record stalls, postcards and flower markets in the inner court during the day. However sometimes in the evening sometimes something magical happens. I won’t spoil the surprise….

Of course there are  also museums to look round and I am sure they are very interesting. We just never quite got round to them Too busy relaxing in the charming squares watching the very stylish French world go by I suppose. Too busy doing a little gentle shopping too. You know how it is..

Two things you should know about Lille

You can’t really write about Lille and miss out two of the main reasons people go there. The first is La Braderie. This is an annual street fair held every September. This is NOT a good time to go expecting a bargain mid-week break. Lille will be packed to bursting for La Braderie. It is one of Europe’s biggest and oldest street markets and it is total madness. The whole of the city is set up with stalls selling paintings, antiques, ornaments, furniture. There are street parties and a tradition of eating mussels with chips and drinking huge amounts of local beer. In fact the restaurants in the city have a competition to see which one can build the biggest pile of mussel shells.  Where La Braderie can be to your advantage is if you can go the week before or the week after. On the whole, I’d suggest the week before is best as the week after most of Lille will have a hangover!

The other reason people often go to Lille is the traditional Christmas market. This is much less full on than La Braderie and could be quite good fun.

Where to eat in Lille?

It would be no exaggeration to say you are spoiled for choice. Lille is full of great food and some of it not too expensive either. For value and local specialities it is hard to beat Chicoree. It might be a bit touristy but it is open 24/7 and the food is basic but good.  If you go there, and you like fish, do not miss the waterzoi. This is a wonderful fish stew which a Flemish speciality and is totally delicious. At around €13.50 each it is a very reasonably priced treat. Wash it down with one of the great Belgium beers on offer.

Midweek breaks Lille

There’s a gorgeous spot for lunch tucked down one of the side streets, La Vieux de la Ville. It is tiny and gets very busy so you might want to book but the food is wonderful and totally authentic.

Quick tip: Look for the words “estaminet cafe” if you want typical local cuisine.

If you’ve a desire to splurge try L’Huitriere (Rue des Chats Bossus) It’s got the most amazing Art-nouveau frontage and is above the fish store. It is supposed to be one of the best seafood and fish restaurants in France and is priced accordingly.

Midweek breaks Lille

One place that did confuse me was Maison du Moulin D’Or (Morel & Fils)in  Place du Théâtre. I though it was a shop at first but now it is a stylish bar. It used to be a hat shop and it still has lots of fancy model heads, wooden dolls, and other curiosities. It is all decorated in perfect shabby chic soft sea green and pink and is a great place for a beer or coffee.

We found one little cobbled street with no less than 5 wonderful restaurants. In that one street you could sample great food from 3 different regions of France and 2 that served traditional Flemish cuisine. I’m not going to tell you where it was, go and find it for yourself It’s half the fun!

Midweek breaks Lille

And then there’s the street food…. and the chocolates, sigh….. don’t miss Meert!

On Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings there is an open market at Marché de Wazemmes. It. Sells. Everything. Hats, handbags, furniture that you’ll hate to leave behind, gorgeous fresh, cut flowers, rotisserie chickens, roast potatoes, sushi, fresh farm produce that will make you wish you were staying long enough to need to cook, even locally made cidre and poire (cider and perry!)

How to get to Lille

The best way of getting to Lille is by far the Eurostar. It is quick and painless and much faster than any alternatives. The city centre is only a 15 minute walk from the station and clearly signposted. Look out for special deals for mid-week breaks on the Eurostar web site and you can pick up some real bargains.

Where to stay in Lille

We stayed in a very budget apartment just on the edge of the city centre and I have to say I wouldn’t do it again. We were just too near the huge ring road to be really comfortable, so that was a false economy.  However there were very nice places which, when I checked, were just as reasonable, right in the oldest part of the city. Learn from my mistake

So why not add Lille to your list of possible mid-week breaks