Lille in 3 days

La Piscine — Musée d'Art et d'Industrie André Diligent (Roubaix — 12km northeast of Lille by metro (M2, 20 min, €1.80); the most architecturally extraordinary museum in northern France: the museum is housed in the former Roubaix municipal swimming pool (built 1927–1932 by architect Albert Baert; the pool was designed in the Art Deco style, with a 50m swimming pool in a vaulted nave, rose windows at each end (the north and south windows by Henri Marret, 1933 — stained glass depicting the benefits of water and hygiene), and a monumental ceramic frieze lining the pool surround)). The museum (the swimming pool was transformed into a museum in 2001 by Jean-Paul Philippon): the pool (the 50m pool is preserved as the main exhibition space — the water has been replaced by a shallow reflection pool (20cm deep) that reflects the architectural details of the vaulted ceiling; the central aisle of the museum runs down the former pool lane, with sculptures (bronzes, terracottas, marble) displayed in the former changing booths along the sides)); the collection (textiles, ceramics, sculpture, and fine arts — reflecting the industrial heritage of Roubaix (the textile capital of France)). Adults €11.

Roubaix and Euralille (the two modern faces of the Lille metropolitan area): Roubaix market (the main Thursday market of Roubaix — one of the most multicultural markets in France (Roubaix has France's highest proportion of residents of Moroccan, Algerian, and sub-Saharan African origin; the population is approximately 40% of non-European origin; the market reflects this: halal butchers, Moroccan spice stalls, African fabric vendors alongside the traditional Flemish market produce)); Euralille (the 1994 master-planned business and retail district between the two Lille railway stations (Gare Lille-Flandres and Gare Lille-Europe), designed by Rem Koolhaas (OMA — the Rotterdam architecture firm) to celebrate the opening of the Channel Tunnel and the Eurostar (Lille is equidistant between Paris and London; the Eurostar stops at Lille-Europe on the Paris-London route); the Euralille shopping centre (the largest urban shopping centre in France at its opening; the Koolhaas design was deliberately anti-monumental (the building deliberately looks unfinished and industrial in response to the mega-retail aesthetic of the period)). Free.

Belgian border day trip (Lille's location 15km from Belgium makes it ideal for a late-afternoon Belgian excursion): by train from Gare Lille-Flandres: (1) Kortrijk/Courtrai (30 min; €12 return; a medium-sized Flemish city on the Leie River (the site of the 1302 Battle of the Golden Spurs where the Flemish communal militia defeated the French cavalry — one of the most important victories of the Flemish communes against feudal France; the Broeltorens (two medieval stone towers on the riverside) are the most significant medieval landmark)); (2) Tournai (30 min; €8 return; the oldest city in Belgium (Roman Tornacum, 7th century CE); the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Tournai (UNESCO — one of the finest Romanesque-Gothic cathedrals in Belgium, with 5 towers; the largest cathedral in Belgium by internal volume)). The train crossing (the Belgian frontier is invisible (Schengen) but the landscape changes from French red brick to Belgian grey stone immediately at the border). €8–12 return.

Moules-frites (the defining dish of the Lille Braderie — and the standard Lille brasserie meal year-round): the moules de bouchot (the rope-farmed mussels from the Opal Coast (Côte d'Opale — the French North Sea coast between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Dunkirk; the bouchot mussel (Mytilus edulis grown on vertical poles (bouchots) fixed in the tidal zone of the Norman and Picardy coast) is the definitive French mussel: smaller than Spanish mussels, sweeter, and more intensely flavoured)); the marinière preparation (the classic: mussels steamed open in white wine, shallots, butter, and flat-leaf parsley; the broth is the essential accompaniment (drink it with bread after the mussels are finished)); the frites (the Belgian-style frites that accompany moules in northern France: Bintje potatoes, twice-fried in vegetable fat, dusted with salt; accompanied by mayonnaise (not ketchup — in northern France and Belgium, mayonnaise is the required condiment for proper frites)). Most Lille brasseries serve moules in season (September–March) for €15–22 per pot. €15–22.

Citadelle de Lille (the star-shaped fortress on the western edge of Lille — designed by Vauban (the military engineer who designed Louis XIV's system of border fortresses); built 1667–1670 immediately after Louis XIV's capture of Lille from the Spanish Netherlands; the Citadelle is the finest surviving example of Vauban's trace italienne fortress design in France (the 'trace italienne' — the angled bastion fortification system developed in Italy in the 15th–16th centuries to resist cannon fire; the key innovation: replacing the vertical medieval wall with low angled earthen-and-masonry bastions (four-sided arrowhead-shaped projections from the main wall) that deflect cannon balls and provide overlapping defensive fire from adjacent bastions)): the Citadelle of Lille has 5 bastions, a moat, a covered way, a demi-lune (a triangular outwork protecting the main gate), and a ravelins (additional triangular outworks protecting the moat-crossing bridges); the structure is still in active military use (the French Foreign Legion has a barracks within the Citadelle); public access is limited to the exterior walk and Sunday guided tours (€7). The surrounding Bois de Boulogne (the large public forest around the Citadelle) has a zoo (Lille Zoo — free). Free exterior; €7 guided interior.

Maroilles (the most important cheese of northern France — a washed-rind soft cheese (fromage à croûte lavée) from the Avesnois (the French Ardennes area east of Valenciennes, 80km from Lille): the cheese (Maroilles has been produced since the 10th century (the Abbey of Maroilles (founded 962 CE) developed the cheese as a way to use surplus summer milk in a format that would last through the winter; the monks washed the rind with beer at regular intervals during affinage — the rind-washing technique suppresses the growth of harmful moulds and encourages the growth of Brevibacterium linens (the orange-red rind bacteria that gives washed-rind cheeses their distinctive orange colour and pungent aroma)); Maroilles AOC (the protected designation of origin granted in 1955 — the Maroilles must be produced in the defined Avesnois zone and aged for a minimum of 5 weeks (for the smallest format (the mignon: 180g)) to 4 months (for the full Maroilles: 720g)). Tasting note: the aroma of Maroilles is aggressively pungent (the strongest-smelling French cheese in common use); the flavour is much milder than the aroma suggests — mildly salty, with a mushroom and cellar note. Buy at the Saturday market (Place du Concert). €3–8/piece.

Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse (Rue de la Monnaie 32, Vieux-Lille; the oldest surviving public building in Lille (the hospice was founded in 1237 by Mahaut de Béthune, Countess of Flanders) — a medieval hospital-hospice converted to a museum of Flemish decorative arts and local history): the building (the most complete medieval building in Lille: the Salle des Malades (the 'Ward of the Sick' — the original 13th-century hospital hall, a large timber-roofed room where the sick were housed in simple wooden beds (the beds are reconstructed in the museum); the hall has a painted ceiling (17th-century) and the original stone-flagged floor); the Chapel (the 15th-century hospital chapel with a collection of Flemish devotional paintings and Flemish Delft tiles); the Flemish kitchen (the 18th-century hospital kitchen, the finest surviving Flemish institutional kitchen in France — with the original copper pots, the open hearth, and the Delft tile walls)). Adults €5.

Chicory (la chicorée de Lille — the most distinctive food tradition of Lille and northern France: chicory coffee (chicorée — the roasted root of Cichorium intybus, dried and ground; used as a coffee substitute or additive; the chicory tradition in northern France dates to the Continental Blockade (1806–1814) when Napoleon's embargo of British trade cut off coffee supplies from the Caribbean colonies; the French north, which had been growing chicory for food (the chicory endive) since the 15th century, developed roasted chicory root as a coffee substitute; when coffee returned after 1814, the northern French kept the chicory (mixing it with coffee in a 1:4 ratio for the distinctive 'café-chicorée' (the most popular hot drink in homes in Lille and Roubaix))); the most famous chicory brand: Leroux (the chicory company founded in Orchies in 1858 — the largest chicory processor in the world; still produces chicory for Lille and export at the Orchies factory 25km south of Lille)). Final dinner: the Welsh (the Maroilles-and-beer dish) at L'Estaminet du Vieux-Lille with a Pelforth blonde to finish. €25–35.