Little Foodie Break in Lille, France with Eurostar

Little break, Big difference by Eurostar to Lille, France is only one of many short break destinations. We were lucky to travel in Leisure Select that is class between Standard and Business Premier, but at the moment return ticket London – Lille can cost as low as £55 in Standard class.

with Eurostar to Lille France city centre main square

On the 22nd of August (last Saturday) together with other bloggers we left London, St. Pancras at 6.59 am for a press trip to France.

Lille France architecture

After delicious breakfast on Eurostar train, we arrived in Lille only 1 hour and 25 minutes later, at 9.24 am (8.24 UK time).

things to do in lille france bakery store

Ten minutes later we were already taking walk in waking up to life Lille… little speciality shops were slowly opening in this beautiful town full of quiet narrow streets, with no rush.

lille france shopping Alchimie florist plant store bird cages for sale

I enjoyed nice sunny weather and peaceful morning without children and computer.

lille france points of interest Aux Merveilleux de Fred

I think it is worth to mention that town centre in Lille is just round the corner from the Eurostar terminal so you don’t have to use any transport to get to all places of interest.

eurostar to lille breaks

At 11 am (local time) we visited Meert, famous for their vanilla butter cream waffles but they have much more to offer than that.

eurostar to lille day trip meert cake shop

All those chocolates and cakes were very tempting, luckily for me it was too early to eat sweets so I had only 1 waffle and a little piece of delicious chocolate cake filled with meringue… and very refreshing iced tea.

eurostar to lille short break

Meert
Patisserie – Salon de thé
27 rue Esquermoise
59000 Lille
France

london to lille europe L'atelier des Chefs

At 1 pm we had cooking course in L’Atelier des Chefs… except professional cooking classes they have shop with all kinds of kitchen gadgets and essentials.

london to lille eurostar journey to cooking school L'Atelier des Chefs

If you are coming for a short break to London you can book their classes as well, as they have branches in several cities around the World.

short break holidays abroad

Together with chef Réginald Ioos we made Pavé de cabillaud au miel de fleur de bière, palette colorée de légumes de saison (cod on bed of seasonal vegetables, with honey and beer glaze) and Ch’tiramisu (similar to Italian tiramisu, but on the top of spiced biscuits). After the classes we enjoyed our “hard work” having cod lunch accompanied by white wine, mentioned Ch’tiramisu dessert and espresso.

L’Atelier des Chefs
74 Boulevard de la Liberté
59000, Lille
France

best short break destinations La Capsule pub Lille France

At 4 pm we attended beer and cheese tasting in La Capsule, our host explained us beer production and what influence taste of the beer. We tasted different beers from North of France, available at L’abbaye des Saveurs: A La Chlcoree, La Bavaisienne, Etoile due Nord and Kaouet. All cheeses from Philippe Oliver shop tasted great: Cremet du cap-blanc-nez, Maroilles, Crayeux de Roncq, but Mimolette Francais – Extra Vieille (extra mature) was my personal favourite, especially on a piece of fresh baguette (!)

short break ideas

La Capsule (pub)
25 rue Des Tres Mollettes
59800 Lille
France

We visited also very briefly:

L’abbaye des Saveurs (beer shop)
13 rue des Vieux Murs
59000 Lille
France

Philippe Olivier (cheese shop)
3 rue Cure St Etienne
59800 Lille
France

And then at 5.45 pm we start heading back to the Eurostar terminal, with short stops for last minute shopping.

weekend away ideas

We left Lille 18.35 pm (local time) and 1 hour 25 minutes later and after Spinach and ricotta tortellini with aubergines, pesto and tomato coulis dinner from Leisure Select menu and some Champagne on Eurostar, I arrived on St. Pancras, London at 7 pm (UK time).

short breaks from uk

It took me almost the same time (over an hour) to reach home in North London on the bus, but I made it on time, before kids fallen asleep so I could give them souvenirs I brought for them.

It is incredible how much you can do and how big difference one day break can make. I will be definitely taking more short breaks like this from now on… Lille is not only good for foodies, but also families as it has park with Zoo so I’m thinking of returning with my family for children and shopping oriented trip this time ;)

To learn more about short breaks with Eurostar visit their website or follow them of Twitter.

NOTES

Take a look at blogs of my travel companions: Andrew of Spittoon, Chris of Cheese and Biscuits, Helen of Food Stories, Helen of World Foodie Guide, Kang of London Eater, Kerri and Stephen of Dinner Diary, Krista of Londonelicioius, Liz of Gastronomy Domine, Michelle of Greedy Gourmet, Kerstin of Ms Marmite Lover and Niamh  of Eat Like A Girl.

DISCLOSURE: I was not financially compensated for this post but I was a guest of Eurostar during this press trip. All opinions expressed here are my own and I retained full editorial control.

Your thoughts…

  1. How wonderful Margot. Sounds like you had an amazing time. Great photos too :)

  2. wow!! vat a beautiful place!! i wish i cud visit Lille someday! lovely pics margot!

  3. Not fair…why didnt you tell me :-) Won’t have been able to make it but still….I want to go to Paleis de Thee in Lille for some Earl Grey. Anyway, glad you had fun

  4. Ale fajna wycieczka! Świetne fotki, bardzo malownicze miejsce
    Pozdrawiam :)

  5. Lovely photographs Margot, I especially like the first one, the sky is beautiful! It was lovely to finally meet you, and was a great trip overall :D

  6. Dear Margot,
    I’m sure that you have a great time in Lille. Friends, good food, beautiful places to see, cooking course, one fantastic trip.
    Thank you for sharing with us.

    Greetings from Bulgaria
    Tanya

  7. What a great trip Margot! Thanks for sharing :-)

  8. Um, I think you just lived my dream!! So, wonderful!! -Chris Ann

  9. Really lovely photos, and what a nice trip. I agree with the last comment. oh and nice hanging bird houses!

  10. lovely post – beautiful photos! thank you for sharing and allowing me to stroll with you through these gorgeous streets!

  11. Lovely post and lovely to meet you! How time has flown since, I want to go back :)

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