How to get to LILLE
From Roissy Charles De Gaulle airport, north of Paris, you can get a train at the airport station which will take you directly to the centre of Paris with the RER, but you can also take a TGV (High Speed Train) which will take you directly to the centre of Lille.
There are departures from Lille to Paris every hour during the day, and the journey takes about one hour. For more details about times check out the French railways (SNCF) website on www.sncf.fr.
From Orly airport in the south of Paris, you can get to the centre of Paris via the ORLYBUS bus service, which will take you to Denfert-Rochereau station in Paris.
From this metro station, you can take the metro or the RER (faster trains which cross Paris in 15 minutes) and get off at the Gare du Nord to catch a TGV which will take you directly to the centre of Lille. The journey lasts an hour and there are departures every hour during normal travelling periods and every half hour at peak times during the week.
From Brussels Zaventem Airport, you can get a regional express train which will take you to Brussels-Midi train station (or take a taxi). From there, a " Eurostar " train or a TGV will take you directly to Lille in 38 min.
From Lille Lesquin Airport, there are shuttle services which will take you to the Lille Flandres station in 20 minutes. This service runs from 07h30 to 18h00.
There are two stations in Lille : Lille-Flandres and Lille-Europe, about 400m from each other.
Lille Europe station is a transit station for TGVs from every region in France, and you can also catch the London Eurostar, or the Brussels Thalys there. Some TGVs coming from Paris and continuing to the coast may also stop there.
Lille Flandres station is the final stop for TGVs arriving from the Gare du Nord in Paris. The Regional Express trains leave this station for the different towns in the region.
How to get to the university
TRANSPOLE
The TRANSPOLE company runs the public transport services inside the Lille connurbation. You can get up to 50 % reduction on the weekly fare if you have a French government grant.
Le VAL
To travel around the Lille connurbation, you should use the metro called the VAL, taking Line 1 which leaves from the Regional Hospital Centre (CHR) and ends at 4 Cantons station : this is one of two stations which serves Lille I University (see plan in appendix).
The light underground system that you take to go to Lille I University was designed and developed by the Université Lille 1.
VAL originally stood for Villeneuve d'Ascq Lille, and since its installation in other towns, it has been renamed the Véhicule Automatique Léger (Automatic Light Vehicle).
The specifications laid down for this new means of public transport were as follows :
- An excellent running speed
- Enough trains able to run at peak commuter times
- The capacity to meet the demands of an average flow of traffic (6000 people per hour)
An international competetion was launched in 1971 in order to create a system which met the following criteria:
- Its own site with a running speed of over 30 km/h,
- Entirely automatic without a conductor on board,
- The possibility to run trains frequently (1 train/minute) at peak times,
- Minimal running costs,
- A light infrastructure to minimise the construction costs.
The contract was awarded to an industrial group led by Matra in 1972, after which development of the VAL system began.
History of the completion of Line 1
• September 1978 : the work began. The engineering work and construction of the vehicles involved 2000 people and the first stage lasted 5 years .
• February 1982 : first test run of the VAL system.
• 25 April 1983 : inauguration in the presence of the French President, François Mitterrand.
• 16 May 1983 : following 2 weeks of open days and over 400,000 visitors, the service between "4 Cantons" and "République" was opened for normal service.
• 2 May 1984 : the whole line (13 km, 18 stations) was opened to the public.
The VAL in the world :
- JACKSONVILLE, running since 1989
- ORLYVAL, runs between Orly airport and line B of the RER, in service since 1991
- TOULOUSE, running since 1993
- CHICAGO, running since 1993
- TAIPEH, running since 1994
- RENNES, running since 2002
By bicycle
To get around Lille, the bicycle is the ideal solution. If you enjoy sport, the campus of Lille I is about 6 km from the centre of Lille.
The Braderie of Lille will provide an excellent opportunity to find a second-hand bike, as will the Décathlon Campus shop which also sells second-hand bikes.
There are bicycle garages close to the halls of residence, but if you are staying with an inhabitant, ask your landlord or landlady if it’s possible to leave your bike with them.
If you only want to go for the occasional bike ride around Lille, you can rent a bike from Localille in front of the Tourist Information Office at the Palais Rihour.
