The weekend of the first Sunday in September is when the Braderie de Lille, Europe’s largest flea market, is held With some 2.5 million visitors to the town, its a busy time so make your visit go smoothly with some practical information.
Car Parking at the Braderie de Lille
You cannot access the town of Lille by car during the time of the braderie – the roads will be closed. If you are intending to travel to the Braderie de Lille by car, make your way to one of the car parks on the outskirts of Lille. Look for sign posts saying “parcs relais” and take the metro or bus shuttle service into the town to access the braderie.
Car Parks at Porte des Postes, Porte d’Arras, Saint-Philibert (metro Saint-Philibert), Cité Scientifique (metro Cité Scientifique and 4 Cantons).
Coaches must contact the Tourist Information Office for parking information (details below).
Some parking space is allocated to camping cars at Porte de Valenciennes, subject to availability – but this runs out very quickly.
Public Transport at the Braderie de Lille
Metro access: line 1, Rihour stop. Buy a Braderie Pass (Pass’Braderie) (about €5.00) for cheaper travel. Metro trains will run every few minutes during the day about every ten minutes during the Saturday night and you can use your pass as many times as you like for Braderie access.
If you are taking a train into Lille, the train company always puts on additional trains and has discounts for travellers to the Braderie – make sure when you purchase your ticket you tell the salesperson that you’re going to the Braderie to take advantage of the savings.
Lille has two stations located in the city center and accessible by metro and tram:
Gare Lille Flandres : TER and TGV direct Paris.
Gare Lille Europe Eurostar to London and Brussels, runs many trains through out the day to the following stations: Direct TGV service to the airport Roissy, Paris and all major French cities. Brussels: 38 minutes; TGV Eurostars Paris: 1 hour; TGV London: 1:20; Lyon: 3 hours; direct TGV Rennes: 3:50; direct TGV Marseille: 4:30; direct TGV Bordeaux: 5h; TGV Montpellier: 5 hours; direct TGVStrasbourg: 3:20.
Trams and buses will also run throughout the day and night for the duration of the Braderie.
Useful Numbers
Fire brigade: 18
Ambulances: 15
Police: 17
City Police: 03 20 49 56 66
Central Police Station: 03 62 59 80 00
