Lille runs on student money — 110,000 of them — which keeps prices closer to Brussels than Paris. City museums are free every first Sunday, the Citadelle park never charges, and a full lunch in the Wazemmes market hall still lands under €10.
Vauban's 1670 five-bastion 'Queen of Citadels' sits in a 110-hectare free park. The 2.3km ramparts walk along the Deûle moat is open dawn to dusk year-round, and the star-fort walls are best seen from the northern towpath.
Paul was founded in Lille in 1889 and the Rue de Paris branch is the mother store. A baguette runs about €1.20, a pain au chocolat €1.40, and a filled sandwich formule with drink lands around €7.50 — cheapest sit-down bread in the centre.
Free entry to Lille's oddest building: a neo-Gothic shell begun in 1854 and only finished in 1999 with a translucent marble west front. From inside, the 30mm-thin Carrara facade glows amber. Open daily 10:00-18:00.
An 1865 English-style garden by Barillet-Deschamps with a grotto, a working marionette theatre kiosk and 1,500 trees. Free and open until 21:00 in summer, 18:00 in winter — locals bring supermarket wine and sit by the Deûle bank.
Northern France's biggest market: covered hall open Tuesday-Sunday mornings, with the huge open-air square market on Sunday until 14:00. Rotisserie chicken quarter €4, a kilo of clementines €2, North African pastries three for €2.
Baraque à frites culture is the region's real cuisine: a cornet of double-fried Bintje chips with samouraï or picalilli sauce costs €3.50, a fricadelle €2.50. Paper cone, standing at the counter, no service charge.
Outside the September Braderie, the permanent second-hand shops around Rue des Bouchers and Rue de la Monnaie sell vinyl at €3, vintage Lille postcards at €1 and Flemish enamelware from €5. Most open 14:00-19:00, closed Monday.
Rue de Gand is the estaminet strip, but the budget move is the demi of local Ch'ti or Jenlain at €3.20 at the bar rather than €5.50 on the terrace — French law prices bar-counter drinks lower and it's posted on the tarif card.
At 104m this 1932 brick belfry is the tallest in Europe and a UNESCO site. Lift plus 100 steps to a 360° platform over Lille, the Flanders plain and, on clear days, the slag heaps of the mining basin. €7.50 adult, €5 reduced.
The 1909 interurban tram still runs 18km to Roubaix and Tourcoing on a standard €1.80 Ilévia ticket, valid 60 minutes with transfers. The route passes the Art Deco villas of Marcq-en-Barœul at street level.
A 1932 Art Deco municipal swimming pool converted into a museum, with sculptures lining the water basin under stained-glass sunrise windows. €11 standard, €9 reduced, and free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month.
A free 4km flat waterside walk from the Renaissance basin at Quai du Wault past the old textile mills to the redbrick Le Blan-Lafont complex. Best light an hour before sunset when the water mirrors the brick.