Lille Christmas Market: Your Ultimate Guide
Lille’s Christmas market may not be the largest in France, but it’s easily one of the most charming. Set against a backdrop of colorful Flemish-style architecture, the city’s festive atmosphere feels straight out of a holiday postcard.
It’s easy to see why this is one of the most popular Christmas markets in France with visitors and locals alike.
Grand’Place, the heart of Lille, is especially stunning, with its ornate facades and warm red, gold, and white brickwork a magical backdrop to an enormous Christmas tree.
The city’s Christmas festivities are spread across three squares, each just a block apart, making it easy to stroll from one market to the next. I thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the Lille Christmas market and think its one of the best holiday cities in France.
Here’s what to see and do in Lille at Christmastime:
Lille Christmas Market at Place Rihour
Lille’s “Christmas Village” is set up in Place Rihour and has an incredible festive atmosphere. A beautifully lit archway welcomes visitors to the Village de Noël de Lille, setting the tone for the holiday magic inside.
The Christmas village is created by a circle of charming wooden chalets, with a canopy of lights radiating from the center, creating a magical glow throughout the passageways. Nearly 90 chalets fill the space, each beautifully and whimsically decorated—we especially loved the festive rooftop displays!
For example, some stalls had large pretzels, or an oversized gingerbread man lounging on the roof, or an enormous lit elk and polar bear.
The chalets are pretty evenly split between stalls selling gifts and those offering food and drinks, with plenty of delicious options to enjoy while wandering the market.
What to Eat at the Lille Christmas Market
You will not be dissapointed by the many delicious offerings in Lille.
You’ll find seafood like grilled salmon, cavier, and oysters, and bread options like pretzels, crepes, and waffles.
Savory sausages + choucroute (sauerkraut), as well as rissoles, a flaky pastry filled with meat and cheese filling that’s a specialty from the Alps region, will satiate you.
And Christmas market classics like roasted chestnuts and tartiflette—another Alps specialty consisting of sliced potatoes mixed with cream, cheese, onions, and bacon— add variety.
Drinks at the Lille Christmas Market
As with all Christmas markets in France, you can get vin chaud (mulled wine), chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), jus de pomme chaud (hot spiced apple juice), and a variety of other alcoholic drinks at all the markets.
Also like the rest of markets in France, Lille does not offer its drinks in cute market-themed mugs (like many European markets), instead opting for reusable plastic cups. Even though it was just in a cup, I really liked the design!
You can return the cup when you’re done for 1 euro back, or you can keep it as a souvenir. We love collecting market cups, so we added our Lille cup to the collection.
What to Buy at the Lille Christmas Market
The Christmas village in Lille has a good mix of food stands and gift stands, with lots of interesting and beautiful gifts, decorations, or treats to pick up.
While this is not a complete list of every single thing you can buy, here’s an idea of the types of things available at the Lille Christmas market:
Grand’Place
Grand’Place is Lille’s main square, surrounded by the most beautiful, ornate, Flemish buildings. It’s the perfect setting for holiday decorations.
The centerpiece of the square in December is the enormous ferris wheel (50 m, 165 ft tall) and a gorgeous tall, lit Christmas tree, surrounded by lots of cute decorations like white trees, or scenes of Santa in his sleigh or workshop.
A ride on the ferrris wheel takes you above the buildings, where you can admire the stunning clock tower on the Place du Theatre and the Christmas village in Place Rihour.
Place du Theatre
Place du Theatre is just one block north of Grand’Place and is equally stunning. Its grand, intricately ornate clocktower on the Chamber of Commerce building is iconic in Lille.
This square holds a small children’s roller coaster ride and some cute Christmas scenes with Santa Claus and reindeer.
Streets of Lille
Lights and lit decorations are strung across the streets on the streets radiating out from the main squares, continuing the Christmas ambiance.
Practical Information
How to Get to Lille at Christmastime
By Rental Car: Certainly you can drive into Lille. There are paid lots all around town – I’d pick something right on the edge. However, Lille is well-connected by public transit so you don’t need to drive.
By Train: The best way to get to Lille is by train. As Lille is a major city in France, it is well-connected to other cities and towns in the region. You can get from either Brussels or Paris to Lille in under an hour, and from London to Lille in 1.5 hours.
Dates and Hours for the Lille Christmas Market
The 2024 Lille Christmas Market opens on Wednesday, the 20th of November, and runs through Sunday, the 29 of December (closed Dec 25).
Market Hours:
- Monday – Thursday, Sunday: 11:00 am to 8:30 pm
- Friday & Saturday: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
- December 24 and 29: closing at 6:00 pm
How Much Time Do You Need in Lille?
Since the Lille Christmas market is rather compact (just one market, plus the 2 extra squares with decorations and rides), you can experience all the holiday festivities in Lille with just half a day. This makes it ideal if you’re visiting on a day trip from the Paris Christmas Markets or Brussels markets.
However, there are tons of beautiful and interesting things to see and do in Lille, and you could easily spend another 1-2 days sightseeing around the city.
Other Helpful Tips
- There are no entrance fees to visit the Christmas markets.
- People in Lille speak French, of course, but you will find that most people interacting with tourists speak at least some English.
- There are some stands that will accept card, but many places will just take cash, so make sure you have cash on hand.
- Weekends are very busy, so if you can, visit on a weekday.
