Lille Christmas Market

We’ve been planning a weekend trip to north France for a while now. And I’ve wanted to return to Brugge ever since my first (and only) visit back in 1994. Well – with our 6 month anniversary in the UK just gone we all decided to go this past weekend.

Our trip started with a 6:30am departure for Dover. The three families met at UD’s house. We had packed the night before but still managed to be 10 minutes late!! UD – experienced in 4WD touring – has a set of UHF radios. This makes the travelling in convoy easy. Both the lead and trailing vehicles are in radio communication.

We were catching a Norfolk Line ferry from Dover to Dunkerque. Departure time is 10am but we were advised to arrive by 9am. It’s a 1:45hr trip but as it includes the M25 we added a little leeway. As it turned out we took about 2 hours so arrived with plenty of time.

Going through passport control we were told that there were 30 knot winds in the Channel but, as the ferries have stabilisers, we should be OK. (gasp!). Boarding is straight forward – simply drive on. The difference with the Tasmanian ferry is that all the channel ferries are major transport links. So the ferry’s take on many lorries (UK term!).

We found that the ferry was modern and very accommodating. There were two decks with lounges, bars, restaurants. The kids found a play area so we basically camped outside as they ran around. Which worked out well as all the activity masked the rolling as we got underway in the Channel. There are two small video clips of our departure here and here.

I wanted to be prepared for driving on the right hand side of the road so printed out an arrow pointing to the right and stuck it in the dash where I could see it without looking down. Have to say – came in very handy! Also – thanks to Gary – we found that the high tech Zafira – with steerable headlights – can be easily configured to point the lights to the right of the road. Very handy!

Once in Dunkerque we got back in convoy and headed towards Lille. UD lead out as he was the only one with a GPS map for Satnav. Following someone made the driving much less stressful. Although immediately after our first anti-clockwise roundabout he promptly drove us into a truck parking ground that was basically gravel with huge pools of muddy water. Apparently, he didn’t have a GPS lock so wanted to pull over. Meanwhile, we had truck drivers giving us directions in French to turn around and exit…

After about 30 minutes driving we pulled off at a town called Steenvoorde. Apparently this is Dutch for “gravelled ford” recognising the Roman crossing of the river Ey Becque as they searched for a road north. We found a hotel with very friendly staff that did their best to help us order some food (baguettes with ham and cheese), coffee, and drinks for the kids. We had eaten on the ferry so I snuck out for a peek around. I quickly found a church with a large WWI memorial. Thinking of Lynne I snapped away (of course, just testing my new camera!!)

We were staying the night in Roubaix – about 15 minutes north of Lille. Thanks to the GPS (and Wimalajeewa navigation skills) we found the Ibis hotel easily arriving about 4pm. Once checked in we catch the tram directly outside the hotel that took us in to the heart of Lille.

I had read about the Lille Christmas Market. It is famous throughout Europe for its lights. The market had only just opened a few nights before so we were keen to check it out. By the time we arrived it was dusk. Walking out of the main station we were greeted by a wall of lights. It was a breathtaking sight. And there were masses of people walking the streets. We joined them (as best you can with 6 kids in tow) and soon came across one of the main squares. There we found a huge Ferris Wheel (video) with a Christmas scene at its base complete with Santa’s house, reindeer, and trees. We decided to have a quick meal and then return.

Arriving back at the Ferris Wheel the kids were so excited to take the ride. As we waited in the short queue we enjoyed carols sung in French. James and Kate ran across to Santa’s house and knocked on the door :).

Once on the ride we got a fantastic view of the lights and city (video). James loved it. As a bonus we spotted the main market in a square not far away. It was a wonderful experience. Lots of food (we all enjoyed pretzels, waffles, and mulled wine), and Christmas decorations. Its such a difference experience from a Christmas in Australia. We just enjoyed walking amongst the stalls and being part of the mass of people out and about.

We were all pretty tired so headed off about 9pm for the 30min tram ride back home to the hotel. Tomorrow… Brugge.

Photos are here.