Where to stay in Lille: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

North of the Grand Place, the streets narrow, the cobbles begin and Lille turns thoroughly Flemish. Vieux-Lille is a maze of seventeenth-century houses in red brick and carved stone, now filled with independent boutiques, chocolate shops, wine bars and estaminets serving beef stewed in beer. The cathedral of Notre-Dame de la Treille sits in the middle.

It is the most romantic place to stay in the city. Hotels are small and characterful, from an intimate five-star to simple, friendly addresses on the lanes, and a traditional four-star in a former convent close to Vauban’s great star-shaped Citadel and its wooded park. Bars and restaurants are everywhere. The stations are 15 to 20 minutes on foot, so pack light or take a taxi.

Everything in Lille radiates from the Grand Place, officially Place du Général de Gaulle. It is a magnificent, slightly theatrical square: gilded gables, a column in the middle, and along one side the Vieille Bourse, a seventeenth-century merchants' exchange whose courtyard now shelters second-hand booksellers and chess players. The opera house and the belfry stand just behind.

You cannot be more central. The stations are about 500 metres one way, Vieux-Lille begins a few steps the other, and the main shopping streets run off to the south. Hotels include a traditional grand hotel facing the square, a 1920s four-star close by, a former consulate turned stylish boutique hotel, and a smart modern address a few steps from the restaurants and concept stores.

Lille has two main stations a few hundred metres apart: Lille Europe, where the Eurostar stops, and the older Lille Flandres. Between and around them is Euralille, a district of glass towers, a large shopping centre and the casino, built when the high-speed line arrived.

It is modern rather than pretty, but nothing beats it for convenience, and the Grand Place is only five to ten minutes' walk. There is real variety here: a five-star casino hotel with a spa, a well-known upscale name near the Zénith arena, bright four-stars two minutes from the platforms and suite hotels with room to spread out. Ideal if you are arriving late, leaving early or travelling with heavy bags.

South-east of the Grand Place, the city opens out around the town hall and its soaring Art Deco belfry, which you can climb for the best view in Lille. Nearby are the old Porte de Paris, the Saint-Sauveur cultural quarter in a converted goods station, and the Grand Palais congress centre and Zénith concert hall.

The district holds Lille's most distinguished hotel, a five-star with a spa, sauna and indoor pool, along with newer hotels and apartment residences in a quiet part of the centre close to the Grand Palais. It suits conference-goers and anyone who wants a calmer base, with the Palais des Beaux-Arts and the main square both a short walk away.

East of Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq is a planned new town of campuses, lakes and parkland. Two things bring visitors: the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, home of Lille's football club and a venue for big concerts, and the LaM, one of the best modern art museums in northern France.

Hotels are practical and well priced. One four-star stands right beside the stadium; others are tucked on the university campus or near the motorway, about 15 minutes by car from both central Lille and the airport, and there are modern studio residences for longer stays. The metro runs straight into the city. Choose it for a match night or a road trip, not for a romantic weekend.

Lille is the centre of a much larger urban area that runs north-east to the Belgian border. Marcq-en-Barœul is its well-to-do garden suburb. Roubaix and Tourcoing, once the powerhouses of the French textile industry, have reinvented their mills as galleries and outlets; La Piscine in Roubaix, an art museum in an Art Deco swimming bath, is worth the trip alone.

Hotels out here are spacious and good value: a renovated four-star in Marcq-en-Barœul, a small hotel beside a golf course, and friendly three-stars in Tourcoing, one set in a large garden. Central Lille is 10 to 30 minutes away by car, tram or metro. A sensible choice if you are driving or prefer somewhere quiet.

Lille sits on the main road from Calais to Paris and Brussels, and plenty of British drivers break their journey here. The hotels around Lesquin airport, south of the city, and beside the motorways to the west are designed for precisely that.

Expect large renovated four-stars set in wooded grounds, with free car parks, charging points, fitness rooms and, at a couple of them, a swimming pool for the children. The city centre is around 15 minutes away by car. Stay here for an overnight stop or with a full boot; for a weekend of wandering and eating, you want to be in town.