Where Lille shops, snacks and lunches: the markets worth your morning.
Food markets, farmers markets and covered halls: where Lille shops, snacks and lunches.
The Wazemmes market fills Place Nouvelle Aventure in Lille three days a week, and on Sunday around 400 stalls turn it into the busiest morning in the city.
Go for: Produce, Spices, Rotisserie
Tip: Sunday is the big one and it starts at 07:00. Go early, then eat at the covered hall next door.
The Halles de Wazemmes in Lille hold 25 permanent traders under one roof, butchers, cheesemongers and fishmongers alongside Asian and Middle Eastern counters.
Go for: Cheese, Charcuterie, Seafood
Tip: The hall keeps going until 20:00 on weekdays, long after the outdoor market has packed up.
The Place du Concert market is the Vieux-Lille one, three mornings a week of organic and regional produce with Asian and North African stalls between them.
Go for: Organic produce, Flowers, Regional goods
Tip: Sunday morning here is calmer than Wazemmes and a short walk from the estaminets on Rue de Gand.
The Sébastopol market in Lille runs Wednesday and Saturday mornings, with an oyster bar, an organic bakery and Italian and Asian counters among the produce.
Go for: Oysters, Cheese, Organic bread
Tip: Saturday is the better of the two days. The oyster bar is the reason to arrive hungry.
The Tuesday market on Rue Saint-Sauveur in Lille runs between Rue Gustave Delory and Avenue Kennedy, with Italian and Caribbean stalls among the produce.
Go for: Italian deli, Caribbean specialities
Tip: One morning a week only. It is the market to catch if you are staying near the Porte de Paris.
The book market fills the inner courtyard of the Vieille Bourse on the Grand-Place in Lille every afternoon from Tuesday to Sunday, under the arcades.
Go for: Second-hand books, Shelter from the rain
Tip: The city publishes days but not clock times for this one. Afternoons are the safe bet.
The Saturday market on Place Saint-Charles serves the Bois-Blancs island quarter of Lille, a small produce and flower market away from the centre.
Go for: Produce, Flowers
Tip: Saturday only, and it is over by 14:00. Combine it with a walk along the Deûle.
The Sunday market on Place Madeleine Caulier in Fives runs around forty stalls of food, flowers and household goods with Asian and Maghrebi counters.
Go for: Maghrebi specialities, Clothing, Produce
Tip: It is the east-side alternative to Wazemmes on a Sunday, and it is considerably less crowded than Wazemmes.
The Tuesday afternoon market on Place Degeyter in Fives is a small regional and artisanal one, produce, meat and confectionery from 15:00 to 19:00.
Go for: Regional produce, Charcuterie
Tip: An afternoon market rather than a morning one, which makes it useful if you cannot do 07:00.
The Friday market on Place Edith Cavell in Lille-Sud is a neighbourhood affair of food, flowers and household goods rather than a visitor destination.
Go for: Produce, Flowers, Household goods
Tip: Friday morning only. This is a shopping market, not a tourist one.
The Tuesday morning market on Place Martin Luther King in Lille-Sud is a straightforward neighbourhood food market for the surrounding streets.
Go for: Produce, Everyday shopping
Tip: Tuesday morning only, and it clears by early afternoon.
The Saturday market on Place Déliot in Moulins is the student quarter's own food market, running from dawn until the middle of the afternoon.
Go for: Produce, Everyday shopping
Tip: Saturday morning only. Moulins is a short walk from the Saint-Sauveur boulevards.
The Wednesday afternoon market on Place Vanhoenacker in Moulins gathers local and organic producers, bulk groceries, an apiary stall and Asian takeaway.
Go for: Organic producers, Bulk groceries, Honey
Tip: Afternoon trading from 15:00, which suits anyone who cannot face a 07:00 market.
The Wednesday market on the church forecourt at Saint-Maurice Pellevoisin in Lille is a neighbourhood food market at the corner of Rue A. Leroy.
Go for: Produce, Everyday shopping
Tip: Wednesday morning only, on the forecourt rather than a square.
The Wednesday market at the Ferme urbaine Concorde in Lille sells what the urban farm itself grows, straight off the plot in the Faubourg de Béthune.
Go for: Farm produce
Tip: This is the farm's own stall rather than a trading market, and it runs Wednesday afternoons only.