Lille Warnings and Dangers

I'm sure there are safety issues in Lille.
I've been to some pretty dangerous cities on my travels, and I can honestly say that I have never, ever felt as safe as I did in Lille. Walking round late at night, taking a wrong turn, using MacDonalds toilets without buying something (oops!), honestly I felt so safe in Lille, much safer than I feel walking around in England.
Like I say, I'm sure there are problems with Crime, but other than a couple of beggars round the main square and a bit of broken glass, there was nothing unsightly about Lille at all.

1 more image

Expensive!

To thank our friends from "couchsufing" of Lille to have offered us one if the interesting visit, I offered to drink something in a local bar/pub.

If the framework was magnificent with an exposition of photos of James Dean to the first floor, I have nonetheless had a bitter taste while receiving the bill. More than twenty Euro for 6 consumptions, that appears me disproportionate (3,40 € for a coffee and 4.2 €!!! for a local beer)

---oooOOOooo---

Pour remercier nos amis"couchsufeurs" de Lille de nous avoir offert une si l'intéressante visite, j'ai offert de boire quelque chose dans un café local.

Si le cadre était magnifique avec une exposition de photos de James Dean au premier étage, j'ai quand même eu un goût amer en recevant la facture. Plus de vingt euros pour 6 consommations, cela me paraît disproportionné (3,40 € pour un café et 4,2 €!!! pour une bière locale)

---oooOOOooo---

Sadly the beauty of Lille has been marred with several 'crotte' dog droppings on some avenues. Make sure you keep your wits about you and keep an eye on where you tread before you get there. Just makes walking around town a whole lot more pleasant!

1 more image

I know that the Grand Braderie is really, really big and that it generates a lot of garbage but similar festivals that I have been to in the US, you just wouldn't see the mounds of garbage and the garbage covering the street that we did here. In addition to sanitary issues, it's incredibly unsightly and not a good introduction to the city for it's many visitors during the Grand Braderie.

Try and Avoid the City on a Sunday as everything is shut, apart from Mc Donalds at the Station. So if you like fast food you will have a great day. Apart from this i encountered no dangers on my trip and found the City safe and friendly!

A huge market well worth the visit but beware of pickpockets. I was stupid enough to have my bag on my back and felt a tug, the zips were open and the man behind me was just pulling his hand away. Luckily the zips are stiff so I felt it and he didn't have time to get anything. We were followed for a while by him and another man and felt very uneasy.

Be wary of people coming up to you in the metro stations asking for change for the telephone cabins. The seem sincere and say they only need a few coins to make a phone call. But for one, most telephone cabins don't accept coins, only telecards. For two, these people always just take your coins and then go ask the next unsuspecting passerby. They have just come up with another creative way of begging.