Get a quote

Share your plans and we'll design your trip around them.

Get started

School trips to Lille

Need something bespoke?

Halsbury Sticker

School trips to Lille are great for groups studying French, including primary school groups, and are also ideal if you’re looking to arrange a festive treat for your students!

Lille is within easy reach of the UK, making it one of the best destinations for a short school trip to France, and a great option for a day trip. On the border with Belgium, Lille offers the exciting opportunity to experience French culture with a strong Flemish influence.

Whatever your reason for visiting, we’ll tailor-make your school trip to Lille to ensure that it suits your curriculum and specific learning objectives.

Browse our trips

Why choose Halsbury?

We build your trip around you

Tell us your learning objectives, curriculum and budget and we’ll do the rest.

Contact us

We’re trusted for a reason

We’re members of ABTA, ABTOT and the School Travel Forum. We also hold an ATOL and the LOtC Quality Badge.

Read more

Our Education specialists

Laura Martin

Tours Sales & Product Manager

Emma Gray da Silva

Senior Tour Consultant

Judit Eleod

Senior Tour Consultant

Paul Hudson

Senior Tour Consultant

Meet our travel specialists and get to know more about the people committed to making your educational trip the best it can be.

Meet the education team

Why visit Lille?

Experience a traditional Christmas

Most of our groups choose to visit Lille at Christmas when the city is at its most vibrant and exciting, and the festive Christmas markets take over the city centre.

There are, of course, many enchanting Christmas markets that take place around France during December. But the charming city of Lille is the perfect place to experience the authentic and magical atmosphere of a traditional French Christmas market. And Lille’s Christmas market is certainly a favourite among our school groups.

Indeed, Lille’s Christmas market is one of the most famous in France with over 50 stalls selling traditional and regional crafts, cuisine and gifts, making it a popular option for Christmas markets school trips to France.

Your students will love the opportunity to practise speaking French with the local stallholders, as they buy presents for their family and tasty treats for themselves!

Experiences like this can give their confidence a real boost, while also encouraging an enthusiasm for foreign languages and different cultures.

Get your younger students talking!

Lille is also the perfect choice for a French primary school trip, not least because of the short journey times. It’s also easily navigable and less hectic than somewhere like Paris, which is ideal for younger groups and still offers a wonderful introduction to all things French.

On your school trip to Lille, your students will have the opportunity to hear French spoken all around them. You’ll have lots of opportunities to reinforce vocabulary with them and this exciting opportunity could be what inspires the linguists of the future!

The birthplace of Charles de Gaulle

When you’re not exploring the Christmas markets, there’s plenty of history to enjoy on a school trip to Lille!

This is the birthplace of Charles de Gaulle and the house he was born in is now a museum dedicated to the former president.

And there’s also a fantastic museum dedicated to the French Resistance – if any of your students are studying WW2 these are visits not to be missed.

Activities in Lille that your school group will love

Euralille

Lille may be Capital of Culture, but it's long been a capital of shopping.

Guided Tour of Lille

From Grand'Place to the Palais Rihour, discover the architectural heritage of Europe's Capital of Culture (2004) with guides from Lille

Lille Christmas Market

Lille is the perfect place to experience the authentic and magical atmosphere of a traditional Christmas market.

Shopping in Lille

From its rich merchant past Lille has retained a real commercial tradition.

Lille Zoo

The Citadelle Park, Lille's largest and most visited, park brings a breath of fresh air to the city.

Why Teachers Trust Halsbury

Over 40 years’ experience.

From making the most of your time to supporting you while you’re away, our experience means your trip is in safe hands.

Trusted by over 900 teachers every year.

And 98% of them rated their trip as ‘good’ or above last year*.

Financially protected school trips.

We’re members of ABTA, ATOL and ABTOT, so you know your trip is in safe hands.

We take safety seriously.

As an Assured Member of the School Travel Forum, we have a robust Safety Management System in place. 

Risk assessments made easy.

Our LOtC Quality Badge and Safety Management System make the risk assessment process quicker and easier.

We’re safeguarding champions.

We work with Patronus Safeguarding to ensure all safeguarding concerns are recorded and managed clearly and consistently.

Quality trips designed to deliver real impact.

Our experts will work closely with you to design a trip that meets your learning objectives (and we hold the LOtC Quality Badge).

24/7 support while you’re away.

We’ll be just a phone call away while you’re on your trip, ready to step in if the unexpected happens.

Free inspection visits.

Enjoy two nights’ free accommodation on an inspection visit so you can complete risk assessments.

Our smart digital portal makes trip admin easy.

Collect passport and dietary information quickly and simply with our My Trip Zone.

*Customer satisfaction survey January 2025 – December 2025