Advice on Base and Sights around Lille

Posted by cwentzell on 09/04/22 01:39 PM

We have 4 nights to spend somewhere in the vicinity of Lille at the end of October. We will be traveling by car with our 3 kids (6, 9 and 11). We prefer to stay in smaller towns and villages over cities and I am trying to find a place to base ourselves. We would like to be within an hour or so of Bruges and Ypres. Vimy is also on our list of must-sees but we could visit the memorial on the day we travel back to Paris for our flight home. Our oldest is especially interested in the war history so we definitely want to spend time exploring some of the battlefields, cemeteries and memorials, but we would like to balance our time with pretty walks, village explorations, and other experiences. I've searched the forum and didn't find exactly what I'm looking for - so many travellers are focusing their trips exclusively on the battlefields in this region.

I would be grateful for:
- suggestions of a good place to base ourselves (doesn't matter which side of the border)
- suggestions of war memorials, battlefields, etc that might be of particular interest to an 11-year old Canadian kid
- suggestions of places and things to see/experience in the region other than war memorials

Thank you in advance!

Posted by Tim

Wyckoff, NJ, USA

09/04/22 02:38 PM

7327 posts

If you use the search box top center, you will find plenty of posts about Lille itself, which is relatively attractive for a medium-sized city. I went by train from Antwerp, so I don't have comments on a car in and near Lille. I mainly went for the big art museum in Lille, but kids would like the one driverless, tiny-car subway line. I should point out that while there are many virtues for a car in visiting smaller towns and battlefields, it can be a hindrance in visiting historic cities with massive postwar growth, like Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels, and the other biggies.

Because you have 3 children, I should mention that the paid-garage parking in Belgian cities tends to have much smaller aisles and stalls than you are used to in Canada and the US. So don't rent a bigger car than you need.

I'd mention the coastal tram line from Ostend, because some people have mentioned beach fortifications west of Ostend, but I didn't ride it that far. I'm not a battlefield guy, so I can't help more with that. If you hit some warm October days, Ostend does have a huge beach. I went there for the tracks of artist James Ensor. Ostend may be beer-y in the summer, but I wouldn't worry about October.

The Louvre-Lens art museum is on my list for the future.

Posted by Wil

IJzendijke, The Netherlands

09/04/22 05:20 PM

1985 posts

Doornik in Flemish = Tournai in French near Lille, but in Belgium is a lovely off the beaten track town within 1 hour from Bruges and Ypres. It has an impressive cathedral and attractive main square. You can base yourself in also attractive Arras, but within 1½ hour from Bruges, but very convenient for Vimy Ridge. Beaumont-Hamel is within (about) a half hour driving and of interest for Canadians too. It’s also a good location in case you like to visit the former V2 launch bases (La Coupole and Le Blockhaus) near Saint-Omer.

Amiens (but well over 2h driving from Bruges) is larger and a good location for visiting the numerous places related to the battle of the Somme, so WW1. It has a huge cathedral with a pleasant adjacent district, a permanent circus and the house where Jules Verne once lived. North-east of Amiens near Albert (edited) you can visit Thiepval memorial, Lochnagar Crater and the Red Baron crash site near Vaux-sur-Somme.

Near Maldegem/Adegem, 20 km east of Bruges there is the Canadian WW2 Cemetery, but not so suitable for the kids. In Adegem there is also a WW2 Canada and Poland museum related to the battle of the Scheldt.

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

09/04/22 08:28 PM

32821 posts

Sanctuary Wood is very moving, as is Tyne Cot. There is a good website with clear and helpful information on these and many more - be warned there are LOTS of ads, but an excellent website https://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/

Northeast of Ypres on the N313 is St Julien Canadian Memorial. Very moving.

Additional sombreness is that just northwest of the memorial is the very sad Studentenfriedhof (student cemetary). Quoting from another excellent website

https://www.flandersfields.be/en/do/german-military-cemetery-langemark

"The sombreness is very much in evidence at the German military cemetery - Deutcher Soldatenfriedhof - in Langemark. However, its powerful simplicity lends a poignant air to this haunting burial ground. Behind the monumental entrance building lie about 44 300 soldiers, half of them in a mass grave. Over 3 000 cadets and student volunteers are among the dead. They were killed in October 1914 during the futile attempts to break though to Ypres. Hence the cemetery is also known as the Studentenfriedhof."

It is an area absolutely full of places of great interest, and could keep you and your youngster busy for a very long time.

There are places of interest to visitors from many countries, including Canada, UK, US, Commonwealth countries as well as those from the battlefield countries.