VISIT MORE, SPEND LESS ! Visit museums for free with CITY PASS !

Due to the size of its permanent collections, the Palais des Beaux-Arts of Lille is considered to be the second largest general-interest museum in France, just after the Louvre.

The building, completed between 1885 and 1892, is typical of the monumental architecture of the late 19th century.

Fully renovated in 1997, its 22,000 m² house prestigious collections of European painting (Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Delacroix…), a few key examples of 19th century French painting (David's Belisarius, Courbet's L’après-dînée à Ornans, Puvis de Chavannes' The Slumber, …), a large collection of drawings (including 40 sheets by Raphaël), a sculpture gallery (Carpeaux, Rodin, Claudel, Bartholdi…) and 17th and 18th century ceramics. 

Also worthy of note is the presentation of relief maps of fifteen fortified towns in Northern France and Belgium (18th century models used by the French Kings during wars).

Open Monday, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM and Wednesday through Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Closed Tuesday and some bank holidays.

Tel : +33 (0)3 20 06 78 00

Visit the Lille Fine Arts Museum website !

Located in the heart of Old Lille, the museum is housed in the hospital founded in 1237 by the Countess Jeanne de Flandre and that remained in service until 1939. The present buildings date back to the 15th, 17th and 18th centuries. They consist of a hospital ward with a panelled barrel vault ceiling, a chapel decorated with the coats of arms of the hospital’s main benefactors and buildings belonging to the community of Augustine nuns, all arranged around two courtyards and a medicinal garden.

Since 1962, these buildings are the setting for a collection of paintings, tapestries, wood sculptures and porcelain from the region, thus creating the atmosphere of a 17th century Flemish small convent.

32 rue de la Monnaie

Bus 3, 6 or 9 – stop Lion d’Or

Open Monday, from 2:00PM to 6:00 PM, and Wednesday through Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM and from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Closed Tuesday and some bank holidays.

Tel : +33 (0)3 28 36 84 00

Full price : 3€

Reduced price : 2€

Free with City Pass

Free the first Sunday of every month

Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille on November 22nd 1890, in the house of his maternal grandparents at 9 Rue Princesse. He was baptised on the same day in the nearby Saint-André church.

9 rue Princesse

Bus 3 or 6 – stop Magasin

Open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10:00AM to 1:00 PM and from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM (last tickets sold at 12 AM and 5 PM).

Closed Monday, Tuesday and bank holidays.

Tel : +33 (0)3 28 38 12 05

Visit the Charles de Gaulle's birthplace and museum website !

Full price : 5€

Reduced price : 3€

Free with City Pass

Located in the former university district, this exciting museum offers a journey through time and across the continents.

Ethnographic and industrial collections have been gradually added to the original zoology and geology galleries. This type of collection is unique in France and includes over 250,000 objects. The museum regularly organises temporary exhibitions to present them.

19 rue de Bruxelles

Bus 13 or 14 – stop Jeanne d’Arc

Until August 3rd (Pays'âges exhibition : Visit the exhibition, click here !), the museum is open on Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, on Wednesday from 9:30Am to 9:00PM, and on Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Closed Tuesday .

Tel : +33 (0)3 28 55 30 80

Full price : 5€

Reduced price : 3€ and 2€

Free for children under 6 years old.

Free with City Pass

44 rue des Canonniers (entrance on rue des Urbanistes)

Bus 3, 6 or 9 - stop Place aux Bleuets

Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Closed the first two weeks of August, and from mid-December to mid-February.

Tel : +33 (0)3 20 55 58 90

Full price : 6€

Reduced price : 4€

Free with City Pass

Lille's Contemporary Sacred Art Centre organises temporary exhibitions that show, in rotation, the estimated 120 works of art that make up the outstanding ‘Dunkirk Passion’ collection, gathered by Gilbert Delaine.

Housed in a stunning concrete hall, these paintings, sculptures and photographs encourage contemplation and dialogue concerning Christ's Passion and mankind’s sufferings. Come discover works by Sergio Ferro, Ladislas Kijno, Jean Roulland, Andy Warhol, and many other artists.

Place Gilleson (modern crypt of Notre-Dame de la Treille Cathedral)

Bus 3, 6 or 9 – stop Lion d’Or

Open Thursday and Friday from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, Saturday from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Closed Sunday through Wednesday, August and bank holidays.

These visiting hours are valid until the end of July 2008.

Tel : +33 (0)3 20 84 83 95 / +33 (0)3 20 72 54 70

Visit the Contemporary Sacred Art Centre's website !

Full price : 2€

Reduced price : 1€

224 rue de Paris

Subway 2 - stop Mairie de Lille

Tel : +33 (0)3 20 44 59 62

Visit the Regional Alms House Museum website !

24 boulevard Louis XIV

Subway 2 - stop Lille Grand Palais

Open Wednesday from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM and from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday by appointment.

Tel : +33 (0)3 20 87 79 47

Visit the Pasteur Institute Museum website !

Price: 2€

A reconstitution of a 1930 classroom displaying didactic and pedagogical materials.

Former Récamier School - 4 rue Frédéric Mottez

Subway 2 - stop Lille Grand Palais

Visit by appointment only.

Tel : +33 (0)3 20 52 33 15

Visit the Public School Living Museum website !