Lille France: Move over Paris, visit this stunning French city instead with world-famous waffles and UNESCO World Heritage Site

I bagged Eurostar sale return tickets to Lille for £70 and I would recommend to anyone to go and visit this city, it was beautiful. The journey is just one hour and 22 minutes from London, and all of a sudden you are in a 17th-century gorgeous French city.

Lille is characterised by its Old Town area, with red brick buildings and paved pedestrian streets centring around its own ‘Grand Place’ (named after famed general, Charles de Gaulle) and buildings such as the old Stock Exchange (known as the Vieille Bourse). Lille has its own notable gothic cathedral (Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille) and the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, a fine arts museum containing works from artists including Goya and Picasso.

I visited in March time, and even though the weather was still a bit crisp there were locals sitting out enjoying the sunshine, having drinks and eating delicious food. The atmosphere of the city was amazing and there were many restaurants and bars to choose from.

The city also has very, very good cakes - just head to Méert. It is one of the oldest pastry shops in the world and originally opened in Lille in 1761. It is famous for guafres, Lille's legendary Belgian waffles filled with a vanilla paste. As are the Merveilleux — a traditional northern French delicacy made with meringue, cream and chocolate shavings.

There are also some amazing shops including La Chambre aux Confitures and Palais Des Thés which is a a store with 250 different teas. There's everything from cool rooftop bars and cute sidewalk cafes to Michelin-starred restaurants and fine dining.

What to see

• Palais des Beaux Arts: A fine arts museum with France’s second-biggest collection after the Louvre (and with far fewer crowds).
• LaM: A modern art museum and sculpture park.
• La Piscine: Located in nearby Roubaix, an art deco swimming pool complex that has been stunningly converted into a repository for fine arts, textiles and fashion.
• La Grand Place (Main Square): A great starting place for your explorations in Lille. Here, you’ll get a really good feel for the place and you’ll be able to enjoy some of Lille’s fabulous architecture.
• La Vieille Bourse (Old Stock Exchange): Often described as Lille’s finest building, La Vieille Bourse is located adjacent to La Grand Place and is a gorgeous example of 17th century Flemish Renaissance architecture.
• Porte de Paris: In 1667, Louis XIV captured Lille and to mark the occasion, this stunning triumphal arch was constructed. The arch is currently undergoing some restoration work, but it’s still easy to see how impressive and grand it is.
• Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall Belfry): The 104 metre high Beffroi de Lille is not just a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s a building that’s often used to represent the entire city.