We need to travel to Lille to return our car and catch a train to Bruges, and we thought it might be nice to stay one night somewhere en route just to make things less crazy. My husband would like to be within about two hours from Lille at most. What would you recommend as a nice stopover? Arras? Amiens? Bethune? Abbeville? Thank you very much for any suggestions!
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2085 posts
Abbeville is not directly attractive, but Amiens or Arras are certainly to consider. I have never been in Béthune, but quiet familiar with the atmosphere in the places of Northern France and it will be a gamble if you will like that. According Google Streetview the main square looks nice and I think you will be the only tourist there.
Senlis is nice and close to freeway A1 to Lille, but likely you want to avoid Paris to get there. Lyons-la-Forêt east of Rouen is nice too, but more than two hours from Lille. You can also think about Lille itself or why not Tournai in Belgium some 30km east of it.
Posted by
back in the Americas
723 posts
I'd like to recommend a little town on the coast called Veules les Roses between Bayeaux and Lille. It is so picturesque, a lovely town to walk and explore. I did a map search and it is a little over two hours from Lille. We just happened to randomly visit here one afternoon on a trip to Normandy about three years ago. We were following the coast from Honfleur up to our ferry crossing in Dieppe. We were very impressed with the quaint houses, beautiful gardens and water wheels. Although it is on the coast it is the town itself that is so pretty. It was very pleasant and very photogenic. Do an online search to see images from here.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
Arras has a pleasant cathedral and gardens, good food and beer, and a branch of the Pompidou art museum from Paris.