Getting Around in Lille

Lille Transportation, like most French and European cities, relies heavily on public transport. Lille's public transport authority, known as Transpole ( 08 20 42 40 40; www.transpole.fr in French), manages two metro lines, two tramways and many urban and suburban buses. Other forms of transports are also readily available, such as bike and taxi.

Metro, Trams & Buses

Lille's two driverless metro lines, which cross each other at the eastern (Gare Lille-Flandres) and western ends of town (Porte de Postes), can transport you through the center of town all the way to the Belgian border. Cars are narrow and long. They run every 2 to 4 minutes during the day and every 6 to 8 minutes in the early morning and late at night. Operating hours are 5am to Midnight.

Tranpole's two tramways stop at 45 stops and reach out into Roubaix and Tourcoing.

Transpole offers 68 urban bus routes. Its Clair de Lune night service runs from 9:30 pm until 12:30.

Public transport shares the same ticketing system. A single fare costs 1.30€. A carnet of 10 tickets is 10.60€. Make sure to validate them at the orange posts before boarding. Full days passes cost 3.5€ and only need to be validated once.

Other Forms of Transport

Bicycles can be rented at  Chti Velo (bicycle in French) at the Gare Lille-Flandres trainstation. Open from 9 to 12 and 1 to 5, Monday through Friday. Rates start as low as 1€ for 1 hour.

Taxi cabs can be reserved at any time of the day. Check local telephone directories. It is somewhat uncommon to flag down taxis in France.