Driving from Calais to Lille

Things to see and do when visiting Lille

The Grand Place

Also known as Place du Général de Gaulle, the main city square in Lille is a perfect place for a spot of lunch or coffee. The focal point of the square is the Column of the Goddess, built to commemorate the resistance of Lille to the Austrian army’s siege of the city in 1792. 

Palais des Beaux-Arts 

Housed in a stunning neo-Baroque building on the Place de la République, the Palais des Beaux-Arts was one of the first ever French museums, founded in 1809 under the orders of Napoleon. While it first hung works of art seized by Napoleon’s armies, it became one of the most well developed and largest provincial art collections in France outside of Paris. It features works from Renaissance, early Modern and Modern artists, including Raphael, Donatello, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Goya, Delacroix and Toulouse-Lautrec. 

The quickest route to Lille – via the A16 & A25 autoroute

Lille is a mere hour and 15 minutes drive from Calais if you take the A16 eastwards towards Dunkirk. Take the N225 road at Dunkirk and follow south-east. This becomes the A25, then follow all the way to Lille. There are no tolls on this route! 

Places to visit en-route

If you have a few hours to spare on your trip from Calais to Lille, here are a couple of ideas of stops you can make – they’re directly accessible from the A16 autoroute. 

Gravelines

Just 25 minutes from Calais is this hidden coastal gem in Hauts-de-France. Gravelines is steeped in maritime history, and is famous for the 17th-century star-shaped ramparts that encircle the old town, complete with a moat which you can sail around. The 2km dead straight channel, cut as another historic defensive measure, is now a playground for rowers, and the beach, Plage du Petit-Fort-Philippe, a haven for sand yachters.

Dunkirk

The seafaring city has plenty of museums and parks, but it’s probably the beaches and dunes that will capture your imagination. Here in 1940 over 300,000 Allied soldiers were rescued in the biggest military evacuation in history. The Operation Dynamo exhibition in Dunkirk tells the story of those historic events. Walking the beaches, you may even unearth fragments of the many ships that were wrecked during that fateful summer. 

The A26 via Saint-Omer 

This route from Calais to Lille will take around an hour and a half, and there are some tolls to pay along the way, but it has the advantage of taking you close to Saint-Omer. 

Places of interest en-route: Saint-Omer

With its wonderful wetlands and astonishing wartime heritage, the Saint-Omer region has much to offer. High on the checklist for most visitors are the wartime bunkers at Helfaut-Wizernes and Eperlecques, and messing about on a bacôve in the Audomarois marshes. 

Saint-Omer is also a great place for good food and drink, as well as a round of golf.  

For those not in a hurry – via the A26 and A1

If you have more time, there is a more leisurely way to drive from Calais to Lille. It will still only take around an hour and 45 minutes. From Calais take the A26, but follow the motorway all the way down to Lens, before joining the A1 northwards to Lille. This route has tolls.  

Places to visit en-route: Lens

Beyond Saint-Omer, the city of Lens is the main reason to come this way from Calais to Lille. Lens has an industrial history, and suffered greatly in both World Wars, but in 2004 it was chosen to be the home of the Louvre-Lens museum. The first permanent satellite museum of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the striking glass and steel building is on the site of a former coal mining yard and set in 50 acres of parkland. 

Prestigious collections from the Louvre are on permanent display, as well as temporary exhibitions. Also close to Lens are several war memorials, including the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. 

Do I need an emissions sticker for Lille? 

Yes, like many cities in France Lille has a permanent ZFE low emissions zone within the central part of the city. Drivers travelling from Calais to Lille will need to display a Crit’Air sticker, which indicates the polluting level of your vehicle. Each level has a number and a sticker colour. You find out what sticker you need by looking in your registration document for the Euro Type Approval Classification, or find a Euro emissions checker online. You will be fined if you are caught driving in the low emissions zone without a Crit’Air sticker, or in a vehicle with an emissions level that is banned in Lille. Here’s how to purchase your sticker. 

Drive to Lille with LeShuttle

LeShuttle can get you to Calais from Folkestone in just 35 minutes. The choice is yours on how you want to drive from Calais to Lille. In fact, Calais could be your starting point for all manner of destinations across France and Europe, and we have lots of other driving guides available to plan your trips.