Making the most of a layover in Lille: Shopping!

Depending on how you travel to the continent, a lot of Eurostar services will call at Lille-Europe and you might be required to change trains. A typical layover can be anything from 34-minutes to a couple of hours; but how do you make the most of it?

Lille is a major city in Northern France which is just over an hours train journey from the UK. From the city, you can catch a train to pretty much anywhere. Brussels, Paris, Disneyland Paris, Marseille and even farther afield. Travelling by train is a very popular thing in Europe.

If you are connecting from a Eurostar to a mainline TGV service (That’s the French rail operator), then your journey should continue through Lille-Europe. However the is another rail station, Lille-Flandres which is about a 4-minute walk away.

Lille-Europe itself is pretty sparse. To be honest most rail stations are unless you are taking about Grand Central in New York City. But right next door you have a large contemporary shopping mall named Euralille which features a plethora of shops and restaurants. From well-known brands such as Sephora and Hollister, to French-based retailers and even a few from the UK. It’s the first time I’ve come across a JD Sports and Primark outside of England.

If you walk a little farther you’ll reach the city centre which is small but decent enough. On certain days you might even be able to catch a quaint little farmers market.

Have you visited Lille before? I’d love to hear any other tips you have on how to spend a layover in the city. I am sure I’ll be passing through there again sometime soon.