Getting there and around

The chances are that you'll arrive in Lille by train on the Eurostar – at Lille Europe.

Built for the high speed world, it's a modern and spacious station and the good news is that it's all of a ten minute walk from the other major town station, Lille Flandres, and then a further five or ten minutes into the city centre.

Lille Europe serves not only the Eurostar but also the other high speed TGVs that shoot through to Brussels and elsewhere. However, that's still only a few trains per hour so it never feels either too rushed or too crowded.

Yep, a boot shaped building and some random plants: It's Lille Europe station.

On arrival you're out into France very quickly – up the escalators, and out of the door. You can take the metro – more of that below – but to get your bearings it's easy to walk, and you're 15 minutes from the centre.

Simply head outside, walk past the huge EuroLille shopping centre on your left and down the main road. Gare Lille Flandres is directly ahead on your left hand side, and once you reach Lille Flandres go straight down the road leading directly opposite from the station foreground.

When you're coming back via Lille Europe, you'll be well catered for with a Relay newsagent, coffee bar and O'Conways bar. The Eurostar passport control and security check are all at one end of the concourse. Do note, once you pass through those you're in a waiting area with the grand sum of a drinks machine and the loo. Twenty minutes from the time your train is due to arrive you make your way from there down to the platform and find the right spot to wait for your coach.

Lille does have its own airport, Lille-Lesquin. It's ten km from the city, linked by a shuttle bus, but at the time of writing there were no links with the UK.

The closest major airport is Paris Charles de Gaulle, which is around an hour by train from Lille. Paris Orly is further afield, to the south of Paris.

Most of the centre of Lille is navigable on foot. Most of the places in the middle are in a central mile, so it's entirely possibly you could do it all by walking. However, if you do want to get from A to B that bit quicker it's worth checking out Lille's impressive transport system.

It's a combination of an underground, trams and buses. It's speedy, regular and efficient.

Going underground: The Metro.

If you do partake, it's worth bagging a day ticket which in 2011 costs 4 euros, easily available from the ticket machines at each metro station and this covers all metros and buses. Just make sure you validate it the first time you use it – there are machines you stamp it in before you go through to the underground. It's an honesty scheme, with no barriers – but be warned, there are frequent ticket inspections.

When you do board the metro, don't be concerned if there's no driver. No, it's not because of a walkout over pay and conditions on the Northern Line, Lille gave the world it's first automatic metro line in 1983 so all the trains are driverless.

It's smooth, quick and efficient and well worth using. There are just two lines, with both passing under Gare Lille Flandres, and one under Gare Lille Europe and stretching out to the suburbs. The best stop for the historic centre is Rihour, although Gare Lille Flandres is not much further. Buses cover the bits the two metro lines can't reach.