We absolutely loved the Lille Christmas Market and it had such a nice variety of vendors plus the architecture and features around town are beautiful. It is extremely kid friendly and if you are thinking of attending the Lille Christmas Market, here is everything you need to plan for the best visit.
Parking
There are many parking areas around the city center, we used the shopping center nearby to park. It isn’t too expensive and if you want to get good parking, show up around late lunch.
We enjoyed getting premium parking so that when we finished at night we had a close place in which to return. Here is the address where we parked: 39-45 Rue Nationale, 59000 Lille, France. If you don’t want to drive in to town, there are many metro and bus stops nearby.
Hours
The really nice thing about this market is that it is open 7 days a week (except for Christmas day). They open at 11am and closing time depends on the day. You can check the Lille tourist site here for updates on the closing time. The benefit of arriving early is not only a good parking spot but you get to enjoy the market in a less crowded atmosphere. It gets busier and busier throughout the day and continues to surge through dinner.
Activities
While a lot of Christmas markets have a focus on alcohol, there is a lot to do that is family friendly. The first thing to see in the Lille Christmas Market is the vendors. There are so many amazing souvenirs and hand-crafted goods, everyone will enjoy the splendor. Some stuff is touristy and has ‘Lille’ slapped all over of it but some of it is unique, hand crafted, and worth the stop.
Next is the Ferris wheel. There may be Santa visits as well but the Ferris wheel is amazing. When we happened to be there, there was a book fair in the Place du General de Galle which was quite a fun coincidence.
Beyond that area is the Chenille ride (pictured above) which is BEAUTIFUL to watch, even if you don’t ride it. There is a fun surprise during the ride if you make the stop, check it out.
Food
The food, ooh la la. Mulled wine and ciders aside, there is such amazing food. Expect freshly made food that is cooked right in front of you. And dessert? It is festive and plentiful in chocolate and other sweets.
Not all of the foods are French, so you’ll definitely have a nice variety of items to try. We loved the fondue in a bread bowl and the chocolate covered fruits in particular. There are a lot of traditional items to choose from as well as some unique holiday-only treats.
For popular items, they sell out early in the day and there is no restock. As recommended, don’t show up in the evening because you may miss the good stuff. We showed up for lunch and I got the very last fondue bread bowl for the day. You can see all of our food below in our vlog of the Christmas Market.
Cash Costs
If you’re not familiar with shopping in Europe, especially markets, cash is a must. More and more vendors are accepting cards, tap and pay, venmo, etc (though they may have a minimum purchase price) but there are still vendors that want cash. Toilets are paid (as free toilets are extremely rare in Europe) so have some centimes or euro coins on hand.
Weather
It can get really cold during the winter months, definitely layer up. If it is raining, there aren’t a lot of areas to stay dry, consider wearing rain gear or bringing an umbrella. Markets won’t be cancelled due to weather. There is some indoor space in other tourist areas nearby (Grand Place, Place du General de Galle), shopping centers, as well as restaurants should you need to wait out the weather.