Lille

Lille needs 1 day: touring the historic Vieux-Lille center, with 17th-century Flemish brick-and-stone facades, and catching the ECLIPSO light show in the heart of the city, the same afternoon. April-June and September-October bring the mildest weather. It's cheaper than Paris, just an hour away by high-speed train. Its proximity to Belgium -less than 15 km from the border- gave it its own Flemish identity, with a beer and estaminet (traditional tavern) tradition distinct from the rest of France, and every first weekend of September it hosts the Braderie de Lille, Europe's largest street market.