Lille’s museums, from the Palais des Beaux-Arts to La Piscine
Lille and its metropolitan area line up some surprising museums, just a few metro or tram stops apart. Old masters, outsider art, an Art Deco swimming pool, a modernist villa: here’s where to spend an afternoon with family or friends.
Palais des Beaux-Arts
One of the largest museums in France, facing the Place de la République. Flemish painting, Goya, Delacroix, sculpture and, in the basement, the plans-reliefs: giant scale models of fortified towns that children pore over down to the last detail. Allow at least two hours.
Place de la République, 59000 Lille
Coming up here: Envers du décor (Thursday 12 Nov, 5:30 pm), Musée des enfants #1 : Grandeur Nature (until 8 May), Midi regard (Friday 27 Nov, 12:30 pm)
Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse
A former medieval hospital in Vieux-Lille, the old town. You see how the nuns cared for the sick, some fine tapestries and the little garden where they grew medicinal plants. A short, peaceful visit, an hour at most.
32 rue de la Monnaie, 59000 Lille
Coming up here: Exposition "Le Château des Étoiles" (11 to 28 November), Activité à Lille : escape-game en plein air (14 to 28 November), Le Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse (11 November to 31 December)
Maison natale Charles de Gaulle
The house in Vieux-Lille where Charles de Gaulle was born, under his grandparents’ roof. The rooms tell of a well-to-do childhood at the end of the 19th century, and an exhibition often rounds off the visit. A good hour for history lovers.
9 rue Princesse, 59000 Lille
Coming up here: Exposition « Fiat lux ! Une quête effrénée de lumière au XIXᵉ siècle » (until 19 September), Visite guidée de la Maison natale Charles de Gaulle (11 November to 27 December), Rencontre-conférence : Dessiner avec la lumière, des sciences à la création artistique (Thursday 26 Nov, 6:30 pm)
LaM
In Villeneuve-d’Ascq, on the edge of a large park, Greater Lille’s modern art museum brings together Picasso, Braque, Modigliani, Miró and Klee, along with a very rich collection of outsider art. Outside, the sculpture garden, free to enter, has works by Calder and Picasso. Allow two hours, including a stroll.
1 allée du Musée, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq
Coming up here: Les ateliers du mercredi (until 1 July), Singulières : artistes, autodidactes, affranchies (until 14 February), Silver Friday (until 18 December)
La Piscine
In Roubaix, a 1930s Art Deco swimming pool turned museum. The main pool still holds water, lined with statues, beneath a sun-shaped stained-glass window. Painting, sculpture, ceramics and textiles, including Camille Claudel’s La Petite Châtelaine. The building alone is worth the trip from Lille.
23 rue de l’Espérance, 59100 Roubaix
Coming up here: Art & Pilates (Friday 13 Nov, 6 pm), Animation jeunes publics / Ombre et lumière (Sunday 15 Nov, 4 pm), Visite guidée - Ni Dieu ni maître ! Arts et anarchie de Courbet à Banksy (Saturday 14 Nov, 4:15 pm)
Villa Cavrois
In Croix, the modernist villa designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens for a family of textile industrialists. Yellow-brick façades, pared-back interiors and a long reflecting pool in the grounds. One for architecture lovers, about an hour and a half.
60 avenue John-Fitzgerald-Kennedy, 59170 Croix
Coming up here: La villa Cavrois (11 November to 31 December), Visite guidée "La villa en perspective(s)" (until 25 September), Dessiner à la main un plan d'architecte (Saturday 14 Nov, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm)
Forum départemental des Sciences
The family science museum, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq. A planetarium from age 3, exhibitions designed for toddlers and science detective games for older children. A safe bet on rainy days.
1 place François-Mitterrand, 59650 Villeneuve-d’Ascq
Coming up here: Heure du conte pour les petits à la médiathèque (Wednesday 11 Nov, 10 am), Ça capte ! (until 29 August), Histoire des pigments et des techniques picturales (Wednesday 18 Nov, 6:30 pm)
Updated 10 November 2026.