La flâneuse in... Lille

Last week I went to Lille for the weekend. As it was my birthday, a little getaway seemed appropriate. I've already been to Lille a couple of times - it's only one hour's drive from where I live and they have the nice French boutiques I  so love. Vieux Lille, the old city centre, has lots of cobbled streets and quiet corners. It's the area I spent most of my time, as all my favourite hotspots are there. Here's the list:

* Tous les jours dimanches, Rue Masurel 13 - the perfect lunch spot, their salads and quiches are exquisite and if you see something you like in the décor, it's all for sale

* Ombres Portées, Rue Masurel 4 - not your average beauty store, here you can buy niche brands like Aesop, Diptyque and 

Miller Haris

* Meert, Rue Esquermoise 27 - like to drink a cup of tea? here you can choose from more than 30 melanges and have a great cake, tart, macaron or merengue on the side

* Summer Camp, Rue Masurel 10 - great selection of table cloths and bed covers in linen, in a beautiful range of colours 

* L'atelier de la sorcière verte, Rue de la Clef 19 - cute shop with nice stationery, photo albums and wrapping papers

* L'ultimo, Rue de Prague 111 - outside the centre, but well worth it. We had a great diner here, a tasty tagliata - they are famous for their pizzas and great selection of wines

* and the usual suspects: Petit Bateau, American Vintage, Sephora, Printemps, Lafayette

We stayed at Hotel UP, a nice design hotel in the city centre. Loved the rain shower,  soft bed linen and had a great birtday breakfast there. Good way to celebrate you're getting a year older, if you ask me...