If you are driving back towards the Channel Tunnel next summer, then a trip to Lille over the first weekend in September might be an interesting option. As well as the opportunity to visit a rather excellent restaurant and wine bar in this city.
Nothing can prepare you for the ‘flea market’, also known as Braderie, that takes place over the first weekend in September in Lille, and has been taking place in one guise or another since the 12th century.
It is massive.
By 8am on the Saturday morning the city is transformed from the relatively quite streets that had still been in evidence the evening before: at 11pm on the Friday there was a bustle, roads being closed, but no hint of the utter scale of what was about to unfold.
There are 43 kilometres of stands - that’s not a typo it is forty-three - with approximately 2.3 million additional visitors heading into the city over the weekend. Forget Twickenham or Wembley, this is a serious number of people concentrated into the confines of the old city.
Walking around one corner presented an extraordinary volume of humanity heading towards us: akin to a French Napoleonic Column advancing en masse might have been the appropriate description.
They are here to party, to buy whatever might be available from the stands, shop fronts and restaurants; and to eat and drink. Mountains of discarded moules shells littered the streets outside restaurants with some eateries having queues stretching back for hundreds of yards.
The mixture of kit ranged from lowly car boot sale trappings to some fairly serious items that could easily adorn one’s home.
We saw a couple of forty-something ladies dining a few tables away on the Friday evening. We mused that they were from Soho House on a buying trip. By 9am the next morning we spotted them both hauling two large trolleys packed to the gunnels with their first purchases. We saw them again around noon with another collection of recently acquired kit, obviously having disposed the first batch into whatever van or lorry was positioned close by.
The goodwill on the streets was very infectious. There was charm, humour, bands playing, general bustle and smiling faces with ages ranging from small babies to some very senior citizens. Average probably late twenties / early thirties.
Security was also high with police units carrying carbines, platoons of the regular army were dispersed, and the infamous CRS parked in the shadows just off the main avenues.
Moules frites was the food of choice and the volume of frites to accompany the crustaceans was a wonder to behold. Northern European beers, in an array of different interpretations, were the quaffing preference with everyone basking in the jolly atmosphere that encompassed the event.
It was a lot of fun!
Anyway, back to the serious business: food and drink.
Le Restaurant du Cerisier - 1-Michelin Star
Are Mathieu Boutroy's amuse-bouche the best ever? Almost certainly. The restaurant has a very open feel, with the main section looking directly towards the kitchen as Mathieu and his brigade prepare and deploy their exquisite menu. The chef will come to each table and discuss the courses that have been created, and what a magnificent collection they are.
Head to the tasting menu and just sit back and enjoy the striking food that follows the sensational amuse-bouches. This was an absolute delight with langoustine, lobster and lamb courses nestled in amongst a host of other delicate and very refined presentations.
The wine list was very good, and the pricing was fair. The service attentive and welcoming. The bill felt about right. If your travels take you to Lille, then allow plenty of time to visit this Michelin-starred establishment.
14 avenue du Peuple-Belge, 59000 Lille, France +33 (0) 3 74 4 49 49
Les Frères Pinard - wine bar
Down a quiet side-street, a stone's throw from the cathedral, sits a discrete but very cosy wine bar. A blackboard of constantly changing wines, a good selection of Northern European beers, and a tremendous selection of plates with cheese, saucisson with all the bits and pieces that could possible accompany them. Just a delicious place to spend a few hours trying a wine or two by the glass while munching away. Could not be better!
28bis, 26, Rue des Vieux Murs, 59800 Lille, France +33 (0)3 20 55 62 67