8 Best Family Things to Do in Lille

Cita-Parc is a thrilling, family-friendly amusement park with an animal and nature theme and rides that all ages can enjoy. The rides are all fairly tame compared to more extreme theme parks, so you can take on pretty much everything, even if you have small children.

The aesthetic of the park can be quite alluring to travellers with kids. You'll find spinning swings that hang from a giant, stylised tree, while one of the coasters puts riders on a giant shark design. You can try it all out for yourself on the west side of town by the citadel.

Gare Saint Sauveur is a former freight station that has since been turned into a cultural venue hosting exhibitions, festivals, concerts and screenings. There's always something special going on here, and the vast majority of their programmes are suitable for all audiences regardless of age.

The art exhibitions are the most common kind of event you'll find here, but kids may be more interested in the live concerts and festivals. Be sure to check their calendar to see what's going to be on during your holiday excursion. You'll find it located just east of the city centre in northern Moulins.

Museum of Dolls & Antique Toys (Musée de la Poupée et du Jouet Ancien) is a museum showcasing children's toys from centuries past. When you visit, you and your family can gain valuable insight into what toys were like for kids in the 19th century as you peruse several actual samples on display.

Visiting this museum is not only educational and fascinating, but it may also give your kids an appreciation for the time they're growing up in. Additionally, you'll find impressive electric trains here, which are a particular favourite among many visitors. You'll find it all by the riverbank a few miles north of the city centre.

The Departmental Forum of Sciences (Forum départemental des Sciences) is a science centre and museum that specialises in science education for adolescents and young children. The exhibitions here excel at making typically hard-to-understand topics easy to comprehend.

This museum and science centre features several interactive exhibits that kids can get directly involved with that are as educational as they are fun. Several temporary exhibitions occur throughout the year as well. It's located a few miles east of the city centre around Pont-De-Bois.

Marcel Dhénin Educational Farm (Ferme pédagogique Marcel Dhénin) is a miniature farm designed to teach kids all about farm life with actual animals. On the farm here, you'll find rabbits, ducks, cats, dogs, horses, pigeons and even cows.

The goal of this farm is to teach kids how a farm works but also how to respect the nature that's all around us. Animals—and the environment in general—are framed as something to be preserved. You can see it all for yourself just northeast of the city centre by the Lille Europe metro station.

The Lille Museum of Natural History (Musée d'Histoire Naturelle de Lille) is a stunning natural history museum filled with zoological specimens, and it's one of the oldest in France. The museum dates back to 1822, but its collection has grown from some amateur artefacts to pieces sourced from around the world.

When you visit this museum, you and your kids will find all sorts of impressive sights, including ancient insects stuck in amber and massive skeletons of extinct creatures like mammoths. Some live creatures are also here, including axolotls and kingsnakes. It's located on the east side of the city centre.

Les Prés du Hem is a park where you'll find plenty of family-friendly activities to enjoy on the surrounding land and the artificial lake within. Hiking and biking are quite common here, but water sports tend to be the primary attraction for travellers of all kinds.

One of the best aspects of this park is the sheer variety of things to do. You can embark on a windsurfing excursion or take out a simple pedal boat and enjoy the water. You'll also find a mini-golf course and a tree-climbing course. It's all located a few miles northwest of Lille in Armentieres.

Fête-Anim is a fun animation festival that takes place every year around December and showcases some of the best in animation. Presentations include various styles, including computer-generated animation, traditional style and even stop motion.

Big names come out to this exciting festival where you and your family can learn all about animated cinema and see previews for new projects. There's even a children's village section where kids can learn about animation with fun and educational activities. It's held a few miles southeast of town around Wallers.