• Difficulty: 4/10
• Duration: 3 hours
• Starting point: Rue d'Estaires - 62400 Béthune
• Finish: Voie verte Nicolas de Clerville - Parc de la Citadelle - 59130 Lille
• Signposting: Canal d'Aire + EV5

You follow the Canal d'Aire from Béthune and then the Canal de la Deûle; a tributary of the Leie and the Scheldt. This takes you through the Deûle valley to Lille. Before you explore the paved streets of the historic center, you pass by the Parc de la Citadelle (110 hectares), the city's largest green lung. This northern metropolis is extremely vibrant and remarkable for its heritage and dynamic culture.

You follow the Canal d'Aire for 17 km and at the Hantay bridge - near rue du 8 mai in Billy-Berclau - you rejoin the EuroVelo 5, which is well signposted towards Lille.

Discover

Water Sports Beuvry

Here you can try out various water sports (kayaking, canoeing, stand-up paddling, hand sailing), as well as many other outdoor activities...

Museum Louvre - Lens

(please note (some) detour of 11 km)

The Louvre in a different way: a Louvre with glass and light architecture, a Louvre whose elegant and innovative museography offers a unique visitor experience. The Louvre-Lens, an open space of 3000m2, is built on the site of a former mine. The Galerie du Temps displays more than 200 key works from the Louvre.

How do you get there? From the towpath of the Bassée, cross the canal and follow the Route de Lens for 5.8 km. Then turn right (opposite Rue Pierre Malvoisin) towards Loos-en-Gohelle, take Rue Carnot and then Rue Roger Salengro. Turn right and rejoin EuroVelo 5 to the museum. For the way back, take the route in the opposite direction.

Lille Marina

Discover the Deûle and surroundings in a different way; with an electric boat (no boating license required). Twenty kilometers of waterways await you for trips ranging from one hour to a day.

Napoléon Bridge

The only covered pedestrian bridge in France (link).

Visit Lille by bike taxi

You’ve already cycled quite a bit to get to Lille, so how about letting someone else pedal for you on a bike taxi during a tour of the old center of Lille? A unique way to discover the city!

Gobrecht Brewery

The brewery is just a stone's throw from the belfry of the town hall and aims to honor the tradition of city breweries. It also wants to be a place where people can discover beer.

Tourist Information

• Office de tourisme de Lille - Palais Rihour

  • Place Rihour

  • 59000 Lille

  • www.lilletourism.com

This Collection is part of the Eurocyclo project, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (Interreg V: France-Wallonia-Flanders)