Lille - the dreamy
The old Méert patisserie looks like a castle. "Whoever was not here was not in Lille," says Marie-Michèle Cadart. As a student, she pressed her nose flat on the shop window. Now she herself stands between chocolate pyramids and sophisticated cake creations. Around it chandeliers. Mirror. Glass. Marble. Wood paneling. Forged iron. Metal cans neatly lined up on the shelves. Nestled on each other. Little bag made of cloth in pastel colors. Méert, the shop was named after its founder in 1761.
Lille's old streets are reminiscent of the Flemish past and seduce the eyes. Yellow and red light the walls, some pink, others are of coarse gray stone. Medallions, faces, animal heads, rosettes, oriels and again and again the red bricks of the north. Behind the baroque facades: pure luxury, pleated evening dresses by Issey Miyake, bags made of the finest leather. Close by: Fish in Art Deco. The Huitrière from the 30s is a Gesamtkunstwerk. Everything is blue inside. On the walls, mosaic stones form fish, crabs and fantasy birds. Below, in the real aquarium, the lobsters fidget.
At the other end of the city, then, a completely different world: so luxurious the old town, so simple is Wazemmes. The heart of this working-class district hits the market: it sells everything that buyers find three times a week. Food, flowers, old furniture, Junk. Wazemmes, that's how Montmartre once was in Paris, says the young writer and publisher Dimitri. In homage to his neighborhood, he invented a surname for himself: Vazemsky. In the past, Wazemmes was a seedy neighborhood, where no one took any notice of who was holding something. A place where ordinary people turned to the accordion on a festive day. Dimitri scolds the real estate speculators: "They buy because it's cheap, and sell when prices rise." There are no sights in Wazemmes. Here you will find little of the beauty and curiosity of the old town or the stately boulevards around the famous Palace of Fine Arts, not far from here. Wazemme's charm is different. One discovers it, if one follows the coincidence.
Trends & Tips
Getting there:With Air France e.g. from Frankfurt to Paris from about 360 Euro (www.airfrance.de). Continue with the TGV train, one hour to Lille, about 33 euros.
Stay:Hôtel Brueghel: tiny, lovingly designed rooms. A wrought-iron lift from the 1920s rattles into the floors. DZ / F from 65 Euro (3? 5, Parvis Saint-Maurice, Tel. 060669, Fax 632527, hotel-brueghel.com) .Hôtel de la Paix: renovated 18th century house, impressive wooden staircase. Double room from 70 Euro (46, rue de Paris, tel. 546393, fax 639897). Hôtel Carlton: Opposite the Opera. Elegant Louis XV furniture and luxurious bathrooms. Double / F 160 Euro (3, rue de Paris, tel. 133313, fax 514817, www.carltonlille.com).
To eat and drink:Patisserie Méert: try the waffles with Madagascar vanilla (27, rue Esquermoise). Coqui Hardi: Meat, fries and beer in the picturesque multi-storey old town house (Grande Place). Les Compagnons de la Grappe: historic walls with garden in the courtyard. Flemish cuisine, young crowd, good wine selection. In winter, the open fireplace burns (26, rue Lepelletier, tel. 210279). La Part des Anges: A sommelier from Burgundy wants to prove that Lille is not just a city of beer. For selected wines from all over the world, there is refined French cuisine. Restaurant and bar (50, rue de la Monnaie). Brasserie André: the most famous brasserie Lilles (71, rue de Béthune) .L'Huitrière: excellent fish dishes. Reservation required, Tel. 554341 (3, rue des Chats-Bossus).
Shopping:Série Noire: fancy and sporty of brand manufacturers. Upstairs theater atmosphere, designed by an artist, with boudoir, huge round sofa and chandeliers with sequin tops (14, rue Lepelletier) .Vieille Bourse: afternoons book flea market in the courtyard, closed on Mondays (Grande Place). La Marbrerie: Antiques around a picturesque garden in the old town (61? 63, rue Léonard Danel).
markets:Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 7am to 2pm in Wazemmes (Place de la Nouvelle Aventure); Sunday, Wednesday and Friday from 7am to 2pm in the old town (Place du Concert).
Do not miss:Palais des Beaux Arts Lille: old masters such as Goya, Rubens and van Dyk and a large sculpture department with works by Rodin and Bartholdi. Tuesdays closed (Place de la République). La Piscine de Roubaix: restored Art Deco bath as a museum; with testimonies of the lost wealth of the textile town Roubaix and a café of the Patisserie Méert in the foyer. Closed on Mondays (23, rue de l'Espérance).
Info:Tourist Office at Palais Rihour (Place Rihour, tel. 219421, fax 219420, www.lilletourism.com).
Phone:Area code for France 0033, then the 320 for Lille. Attention: select the area code 0320 also within the city!
Extra tip:Every first weekend of September, the largest European flea market takes place in Lille. On 100 sidewalk kilometers is sold around the clock for two days.
