Notre Dame de la Treille stands on the site of a much older church that was destroyed during the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. The original building had sheltered a statue of the Virgin Mary known as Our Lady of Treille–believed to have miraculous powers–for some 600 years, and the new cathedral was named in her honour. Building work on the gothic-revival-style church began in the 1850s, but was not fully finished until the mid 1990s. You can learn more about the cathedral and its history on a guided walking tour of Lille.
The cathedral is located at Place Gilleson, in the oldest part of Lille, north of the modern city center. It’s a 10-minute walk from the main train station Lille-Flandres, where both intercity trains and the Eurostar arrive and depart. The closest metro stations are Lille-Flandres and Rihour. Lille also operations a bike-sharing system with stops around the city.
The cathedral is open every day from 10am–12pm and 2pm–7pm. It’s not usually crowded. The cathedral sometimes holds concerts in the afternoons or evenings for paying visitors.
Stroll towards the city center from the cathedral and you’ll pass by the Palais des Beaux Arts (Lille Museum of Fine Arts). With paintings by Reubens, Monet, and Manet, as well as Greek and Roman artifacts, the museum's huge collection covers a lot of ground. There’s something here for art lovers of every kind.
