Bars For All Tastes
There are great bars and cafes everywhere. Hopefully here I can guide you to some of the best bars and cafes in Lille. Lille has a huge student population and the French continue with the national pastime of whiling away the hours with a coffee or wine or beer, reading a newspaper, brushing up on their Jean-Paul Sartre, chatting to friends, or just taking in the scene.
What to expect in Lille’s Bars
As you would expect, like any major city, you have everything from backstreet workingmen’s bars to hi-tech cocktail hangouts. You’ll find sports bars, traditional French bars, student hangouts, ‘authentic’ English/Scottish/Irish pubs. Wine bars. Bars where you can throw axes (!), karaoke bars, fussball bars. Expensive bars. Cheap bars…
A personal favourite, Paon D’Or. Very close to the Fan Zone
The Temple’s Bar pub on rue Masséna
The terrace at Imaginaire – always busy!
Opening Hours, Beer Strength and Prices
Most open very late – but may not open early – and have a vast selection of beers! One warning, Flemish beer is absolutely fantastic, but very, very strong! It’s fairly competitive, so there are lots of happy hours (Le Happy Hour!)… expect to pay 5-7€ for a 50cl of very strong, famous beer.
My favourite is La Chouffe (8%). Jupiler is the popular ‘basic’ beer, but it’s still 5.2%. Beers with alcohol levels of 9% and 10% are not uncommon; Paix Dieu being a popular tipple. Other favourites are Anastoke, Tripel Karmeliet, and Leffe. Beer is generally served in 25cl/33cl/50cl (une pinte!) measures.
Expect to pay around 2€ for an espresso in the centre; more in Starbucks so don’t go there! A Perrier around 3.50€. To state the bleeding obvious, there’s usually a vast choice of wine and any other drinks you can think of!
And don’t worry if you’re not a drinker. Bar owners seem to be very, very tolerant of large groups of students nursing an espresso or Perrier or 25cl beer for hours on end as they chat incessantly!
Most of the bars/brasseries are table service with highly efficient waiters. The ‘pub’ type bars are more usually counter service.
Food, Smoking Rules, and Service Habits
Most bars will do food. Often very good and fairly priced. I’ll cover that in more detail in the restaurant section.
Smoking is not allowed inside, but is perfect acceptable, and practiced extensively, in any outdoor seated area, even when it’s fully enclosed; if that’s not an oxymoron.
Best areas to find bars in Lille
There are quite a few bars in the Grand’Place, where the team introductions take place on July 3. All pretty good and doubtless geared up for the Tour de France, Brasserie La Cloche (Place du Théâtre) is popular.
Bars near Grand’Place and the
Fan Zones
My favourite Lille bar, because it feels very ‘French bistro’, is Au Paon d’Or (Rue de Béthune); very close to the fan zone on Place de la République. There are lots located around rue Solférino and rue Masséna, and rue Royale in the old town (Le Vieux Lille; a great area just to wander around). These three streets are where the city’s vast number of students go to blow their grants. The bars are often more like UK pubs, usually bar service rather than waiters. Plenty of screens/music/choice of beer! Often happy hours.
Plenty of bars and brasseries to choose from on Grand Place in the city centre
Bars around Gare Lille-Flandres
Also, classic French station bars around Gare Lille-Flandres, the 3 Brasseurs, Taverne Flamande and Le Napoleon are regular haunts of mine. Slightly more expensive. Around 8€ for a cinquante. L’Express, round the corner on rue Molinel is pretty good. One word of warning, if you are sitting outside the station bars there’s a fairly constant stream of homeless people who will hassle you; I’m not passing judgement.
Le Napoleon Brasserie by Gare Lille-Flandres
Happy Hour – Paon D’Or style
Place Rihour – Lille
Queen Victoria Pub!
Le Délirium Café on rue Masséna
Seafood at Brasserie La Chicorée, Place Rihour
Le Metropole and Den Artiest, Place Rihour
POSH BARS
Posh Bars and Cocktail Spots
If ‘posh’ is your thing, the bar at Mama Shelter (almost opposite Gare Lille-Flandres) and the next-door Nu restaurant/bar are your best bets! Le Barre in the highly-rated Clarance Hotel is also a favourite of friends of mine. There is a very nice cocktail bar with a view in the Carlton Hotel.
Recommended Bars and Special Spots
At the RWC the Scots had a big ‘night before’ their match party at The Black Lab, in Wasquehal; seemed to go well.
Beer lovers destination
In the old town, L’Abbaye des Saveurs, rue des Vieux Murs, is a renowned beer-lovers institution. Over 200 beers on offer and they will doubtless show the Tour. La Capsule is another beer-fans destination, rue des Trois Mollettes. Again a couple of hundred beers to choose from.
Honourable mention too for Le Délirium Café, 50 rue Masséna, which offers a choice of over 600 (yes you read that correctly) bottled beers and 42 on draft (pressions).
L’Imaginaire in the old town has a very large outdoor area with great views of the cathedral. There are a few popular bars around the Notre-Dame cathedral, Place Gilleson, Beer Square Lille is good.
Sports Bars in Lille
Box2Box, Rue Saint-Jacques, is the best known sports bar. Great atmosphere. Best option if you want to watch other sports whilst you’re here. Open until 2am on Saturdays. Le Monkey, rue Nicholas Leblanc, is another sports bar.There are actually a few UK ‘pub’ type bars along rue Solféreno: The Queen Victoria (yes, really!), L’Irlandais and O’Scotland. Plus, Irish pubs on rue Masséna, Temple’s Bar and Mac Allans.
Bars Close to the Fan Zone
Places close to the fan zone on Place de la Republique include three or four bars clustered around Place du Vieux Marche aux Chevaux.
Bars in Place Rihour
The area around Place Rihour, off Grand’Place is also good for bars/brasseries. About 12 clustered together along a pedestrianised street. My favourite is Le Metropole. Here you will also find a very fine restaurant, Brasserie La Chicorée, where you can get all the usual suspects, plus fantastic seafood platters, like you find on the coast; not cheap. Also Café Meo, a good coffee spot. Plus the restaurant Brasserie de la Paix that I recommend for moule-frites! Den Artiest is new outpost next to Le Metropole.
Insider Tips for Enjoying Lille’s Bar Scene
Most of the Tabacs are also basic bars. Can be atmospheric. They are often also PMU (betting) locations, so always showing sport. Popular with the ‘Ch’ti’, a slightly derogatory term for northern working-class people, who speak a slightly strange dialect. [The very funny film Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis portrays it well]. Clearly, I’ve focused on beer, but other drinks are available! Slightly oddly, even large bars tend to have very small toilets! And often unisex. Be warned.
Non-Alcoholic Options and Coffee Spots
Obviously all the bars do teas, coffee, soft drinks, etc. There are a few Starbucks dotted around the city if you must! (Westfield Shopping Centre, Gare Lille-Flandres, Old Lille, rue Faidherbe…)
Other popular coffee spots include Cafe Meo, Notting Hill Coffee and Coffee Makers.
With waiter service expect to pay for each drink/round when it arrives at your table. The days of racking up a final bill over a few hours seem to have vanished. I’ve never encounterd a bar where it’s either card or cash only.
Looking for the best spots to cheer during the Grand Départ? Check out our guide to the race route & fan zones in Lille.
Le Chopp’ing on rue Royale
Draft beer choice at Le Chopping
GPRS Bar
Bars on Place Gilleson by the cathedral
Terrace with a view at Imaginaire in the old town
Mama Shelter for stylish drinks
DISCOVER LILLE
Lille, the vibrant capital of Flanders, is known for its stunning architecture, rich history, and welcoming atmosphere. Explore the charming old town, indulge in delicious French cuisine, and experience a unique mix of French and Flemish cultures.
Culture and History
Bars and Cafes
Dining
Shopping
Vieux Lille
PLAN YOUR VISIT
STAGE ONE
Start: Lille, Champs-de-Mars esplanade
Finish: Lille, du pont du jardin Vauban
Length: 185km
Profile: Flat
STAGE TWO
Start: Lauwin-Planque
Finish: Boulogne-sur-Mer
Length: 212km
Profile: Hilly
STAGE THREE
Start: Valenciennes
Finish: Dunkirk
Length: 178km
Profile: Flat