Most people would think of Paris when considering taking a city break in France, whilst others might have some of the cities on the French Riviera in mind, for the sunshine, stunning views and relaxing café culture. Yet Lille is unjustly overlooked. Found in the north of the country, close to the Belgian border, Lille is one of the largest cities in France with a cultural heritage that makes a visit there a ‘must’ on everyone’s to-do list.
It has many different museums to explore, and a café culture to rival any on the southern coast; it also has fine dining with French cuisine and Belgian specialities on offer for you to sample. Its excellent public transport connections also make it a good base from which to take day trips to other cities in France. For instance, the iDBUS from Lille to Paris Bercy in central Paris costs as little as 15 Euros Mini Price, around £13, same thing for an iDBUS from Lille to Brussels which costs only 15 Euros (around £13).
If you have been doing a tour of several cities around Europe and Lille is your final destination before reaching home, the iDBUS from Lille to London costs as little as 35 Euros Mini Price, around £29.50. Travelling from Lille to London by bus takes around five-and-three-quarter hours, during which time you can relax and enjoy the sights of the sprawling French countryside. France is far less densely populated than the UK and many travellers who visit France for the first time are surprised at how few cars are on the roads and how few towns are situated along the main routes between cities.
To choose a journey that suits your itinerary, go onto idbus.com and select your departure station and arrival station (e.g. Lille to London) plus the date on which you want to travel and then select your journey based on when you want to travel or how much you want to pay. iDBUS always highlights its cheapest prices for that route (available on at least one journey per day) in orange so it’s easy to see how cheaply you can travel. You can also call customer services to check on which route each train will take if you have a preference of ferry over Tunnel or vice versa.
The buses start from and arrive at stations that are located centrally in Lille and London, conveniently next to other public transport connections.
Travelling by bus with iDBUS allows you to use free on board Wi-Fi and plug sockets and relax in comfortable, spacious seats that you can pre-book and reserve. Luggage restrictions are far less stringent than they are on planes and staff on board are helpful and available to help with any questions.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
