A trip to Lille 🥐🇫🇷 France travel vlog

In this travel vlog you’ll get to join me on a trip to the city of Lille, located in the North of France! During our time there we do a bunch of sightseeing and enjoy some great French food.

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Where am I from? Finland

Where do I live?: The Hague, Netherlands

How old am I?: 29 (when this video was filmed)

Music from Epidemic Sound

today is an exciting day because we’re heading on an adventure Firstly we’re jumping on our first train in Rotterdam Central And of course we did not forget to bring some travel snacks as well On the way we got to enjoy some beautiful green sceneries And this first train ride has only taken a little bit more than an hour Now we’ve arrived to Brussels And from here we’re jumping on one more train that takes less than an hour And then we have now finally come to the beautiful maybe a bit underrated city in the north of France known as Little [Music] Hello everyone My name is Yanuka and welcome to this video Today we have arrived to the city of Liil in France and we’re going to be spending a few days here I’ve come here together with my boyfriend The reason for this trip is that it was my boyfriend’s birthday this week and my birthday gift to him was this trip basically So I’m super excited to explore this place I’ve never been to this city before And now we have just checked in to our hotel It is nothing super super special this hotel but it is on a great location right by the train station and like the city center It seems clean and we have got a really great view from our room So really nice I’m sure this will be a perfect little place for us for the next two nights It’s time to go and explore the hill [Music] Fortunately right now just when we came out it started raining a bit but we found this really cute little inner yard with them selling all kinds of cool things here There’s actually some people playing chess in the rain They are very determined clearly Rain or not it’s still very beautiful and it does kind of actually give it a bit of more of a cozy vibe [Music] So there’s this cookie shop I really want to visit but there was a long line to get there So we decided to first come and check out the cathedral here Must say though this front side of the cathedral is is not the prettiest [Music] So this is the main cathedral here in Liil located in the old town of the city As you saw it has a unique facade and I thought first that maybe it’s been damaged at some point and that’s why they rebuilt it like this But after doing some research I actually learned that it was for a long time an incomplete construction They started constructing this cathedral in 1854 but it wasn’t until 1999 when it got finished And then they decided upon this contemporary marble look for the [Music] facade Okay unfortunately there’s still quite the line for this cookie shop but let’s hope it goes by relatively fast [Music] The queue wasn’t like it looked bad but it only took like maybe 5 minutes I got two different cookie flavors It was really hard to choose I’m not sure if I’m going to eat both right now We’ll see Yeah I got one in dime and then one uh red velvet Let’s try the dime one first actually That sounds really good Cheers Okay these cookies definitely worth the wait but get like water or something because it’s quite intense flavor but it’s really good So far the people here have been super friendly For example just when I was taking a video clip there was a bus driver who stopped the bus so that I could take my photo or video clip that he saw me taking So yeah that has never happened before Super nice And then he also let us pass before he continued Really really nice So we went back to the hotel room for a little bit and we actually both fell asleep Took a little nap That was nice Got a bit more energy back and now we’re on our way for dinner Because it is a Saturday night I did decide to reserve a table from a restaurant And it’s supposed to be a really fun cozy place So looking forward to it For dinner we’ve come to this restaurant/bar where you can play board games How it works is that you pay €5 per person and then you’ll be allowed to play as many games as you want In our case we didn’t choose ourselves what games to play but told the so-called game masters what we liked and what our current vibe was And then they would bring the games out for us and explain the rules of them We ended up playing three different games that were all completely new to us And it was super much fun [Music] [Applause] Happy birthday [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] That restaurant with the board games was super much fun Really much enjoyed it If you do go on a weekend do make sure to book a table because it was quite popular Big recommendation Now we’re walking back home home I think we’ll quickly go to a little shop and there’s clearly some party vibes going on But yeah I’m afraid I have lived past my party days So by the shop to the bed it [Music] is Good morning I didn’t sleep the best if I’m completely honest It was a little bit loud in our room There’s not maybe the best sound installation And as our hotel is right in the city center it was a Saturday night even though we were on one of the top floors It was a little bit loud and there was like some trash cars and stuff Now we’re going to go to a bakery and have a bit of a breakfast I would like to get a koisant or something And then yeah today we have a full day here and there’s quite a lot I’d like to do and see So I’m excited [Music] We found a little bench and it’s time to try out the croissant It’s still nice and warm That was really good The bakery had really good reviews and I see why now M [Music] This grand museum was founded in 1809 by the order of Napoleon and it is the largest museum in France outside of Paris Here you can find a trove of work from Flemish French Italian and Spanish artists The museum building itself has a nice mix of classical architecture with some modern touches making it a unique place to visit [Music] Looks nice We are now about to visit what I believe is like the most famous and popular pastry shop here Yesterday we saw that there was a huge line But today it doesn’t seem too bad It’s supposedly really really beautiful on the inside Oh yeah there’s not really the entrance Here’s the entrance No line Great It’s good we didn’t come yesterday and came today instead [Music] This pastry and sweets shop was founded in 1761 It’s considered to be one of the oldest pastry shops in Liil and even one of the oldest ones in all of France The inside of the shop is absolutely stunning and it feels like traveling back in time when stepping in Trying to choose what to get feels like Mission Impossible because it all looks so good [Music] Before having our sweets we’re going to go for some lunch first Today we’re trying to eat as much French food as possible So for lunch we’ve come to have some galletes which are these savory creps with a filling of your choice We chose one that’s very typical with ham cheese and egg and it was really really good [Music] Okay time to try out the pastries we bought from that pastry shop I got myself an aclair a chocolate aclair It even has little like gold flakes on it Wow That’s really chocolatey It’s like the chocolate on top that’s like dark There’s also some kind of chocolate dark chocolate cream on top And then there’s milk chocolate inside We’ve now come to a city park here There seems to be some kind of place called Sitta Park A little bit of a amusement park here Looks like it’s meant for quite small children though So our plan now is to do a bit of a walk and then go to the zoo as well And yeah within this park there’s also like the old citadel but I don’t think you can actually visit that You can only like kind of walk around it But [Music] yeah this park is known as the green heart of Liil A place where you can escape the city as hustle and bustle for a bit In the middle of it lies a 17th century military fortress which is still today in use by the French army [Music] Heat Heat [Music] We have arrived to the zoo I’m often a little bit skeptical about zoos if they’re ethical or not So let’s see But the entrance was only €6 And yeah we’re now by the enclosure of the red pandas but I can’t see any But actually usually at zoos if you don’t see the animals all of the animals all the time that’s usually a good sign It means that they have places where to hide [Music] This zoo is the home for more than 300 animals but it still isn’t very big and our visit lasted about 1 hour But I must say it was really really enjoyable It seemed like most of the animals were being taken good care of However some of the bigger parrots I wish would have had maybe a bit bigger enclosures I also saw that they were currently expanding the zoo So expect it to become bigger in the coming years I don’t know how long it’s going to take but it’s about to get a little bit bigger soon Oh I want to rub its belly so badly though Does it look so soft [Music] we’ve now come to one of the bird enclosures here And you actually get to walk amongst the birds And there’s one right above me [Music] there [Music] Heat Heat [Music] As museums are free today we’ve decided to come to another one And we are greeted by some very creepy looking nuns But yeah let’s hope it’s a nice museum It’s lucky we didn’t come here yesterday cuz we were contemplating it But it was good we waited until today because today it’s all free [Music] So about this museum the place itself is a very beautiful old medieval building which was originally built in the year 1237 as a hospice to care for the sick and vulnerable and was closely tied to religious life However I’m not sure if I was a big fan of the creepy artwork that had been added in here and I personally would have enjoyed the visit more without it Because of this we ended up walking through the museum relatively fast Well that museum was a bit of a disappointment to be honest Luckily we didn’t go there yesterday and pay for it but we were originally planning on going to this one more museum tomorrow but because they’re free today we thought might as well go today [Music] [Music] [Music] So this house was actually the birthplace of Charles the Gal Um excuse my French if I’m pronouncing that wrong but he used to be a very influential leader in France He was a military officer resistance leader statesman and even the president of France from 1959 to 1969 And in this exhibit you get to learn more about his personal and professional life [Music] This is [Music] There was one restaurant I originally really wanted to go to for dinner tonight but it was closed even though it was not supposed to be But I think we’re going to try and go to that place for lunch tomorrow instead So we had to come up with a plan B And this place was a little bit a further walk away from where we’re staying Well like 20 minutes so not too bad Seems really fun and cozy It’s a huge restaurant so there was no issue getting a spot without a reservation At least not now on a Sunday I’m really hungry We’ve walked a lot today We’ve been building up an appetite so let’s hope the food here is good [Music] tastes like cola It’s good [Music] The dinner was super good but the portion was very heavy So I’m really full now I think tonight we’re going to have a bit more of a early evening We’re going to go to the hotel room chill We still actually have some of the cookies left from yesterday when we bought it from the bakery Not sure how I’m supposed to still eat that today but we’ll see We’ve done a lot today so kind of looking forward to having a chill evening And then we still have tomorrow here to explore [Music] During our time here we’ve been seeing so many of these Paul bakeries So today on our last morning we decided to come and try out one And yeah I’m reserving a seat for us And my boyfriend is just ordering some pastries for us to share got us a kiche and they warmed it up So let’s try it out [Music] We have some kind of apple pastry We’ve now come back to the hotel room as we need to quickly pack and check out Actually whoa my hair is looking crazy Generally about this hotel I think it’s been all right It’s obviously as you’ve seen it’s nothing fancy It’s nothing really big I think it’s very typical in France though that hotel rooms are quite small But yeah this hotel’s location is amazing It’s right in the centers man So easy to come back and forth whenever needed Also the view from our room is really nice I would say the only maybe bad thing has been that the sound isolation is not the greatest I must actually say ever since our trip back from Latin America we’ve barely been traveling because it’s been very much about trying to settle down but now coming here has ignited that neverending travel fever in me again And that’s the thing you don’t always need to go to the other side of the world for months Like sometimes these kind of longer weekend trips are perfect So I really want to start again doing these kind of trips more That’s all for now Thanks for coming to my TED [Music] talk 21° and sunny just the way I wanted [Music] Got the diamond The blue birds peaceful to sing along that I love [Music] you [Music] for our last meal We’ve come to a restaurant that only serves one dish which you can see here So basically steak and fries And this place is apparently or supposed to be really really good And all tables here have this thing to keep the food warm as [Music] well Sauce is really good Well we are now back on the train and unfortunately our trip has come to an end It was such a successful trip The city is really really beautiful The food was really delicious Everyone was super friendly and yeah it was a great experience I definitely recommend visiting Liil if you never have I feel like the few days here were the perfect time to spend in Liil We saw and did a lot But as I’m now on the train I’m going to end this video here I hope you have enjoyed it If you did please give it a thumbs up and let me know down in the comments Have you ever visited Liil or is it a place that’s on your bucket list thank you guys so much for watching and I’ll see you again on my next adventure Bye-bye [Music]