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'''Lille''' (Flemish: '''Rijsel''') is a city in Northern [[France]] on the border with [[Belgium]].It is the fourth largest urban area in France.  ''(Since 2012 this page is being edit mainly by [[User:Roelguldemond|roel guldemond]], Roel has left mainly earlier content. Sure users are more than welcome to add their experiences. Roel made a major update february 2022.)'' 

=== A22/E17 North Going south? Take the A1 towards [[Antwerpen|AntwerpParis]], or directly to south of France join the A26 towards [[BrusselsReims]], [[GentDijon]], [[NetherlandsLyon]] (so also direction Spain & Italy) ===<map lat=Going to Paris?Have a '''"PARIS"-sign'''50.62420185009975The "autoroute" A1 leads to Paris. Heading further than Paris? To the south of France (and Italy, Spain)?Have a '''"LYON"-sign'' lng='2.995147705078125Why? To avoid Paris. It is difficult to cross Paris.Especially to leave Paris.So therefore consider a ' zoom''"LYON"-sign''' when you are still north of Paris.Try to get on the "autoroute" A26. Like try to someone take you to the "Peage" (=toll) right before the junction between A1/A26: stand at this "Peage"-square with a "A26/LYON"-sign). From Lille you can choose to go the first petrol station on the A1, direction Paris.Leaving Lille with a ''10' view"AIRE PHALEMPIN"-sign'''.If you can reach this petrol station "Aire de Phalempin" it is a good way to go south. (On Google Maps it seems you could walk to this petrol station, from the village of Seclin, south of Lille. Seclin has a train station. In french is described how you can get their by feet on: [http://hitchwiki.org/fr/index.php?title=Lille&action=edit&section=3]))  See below several alternatives to get on the A1 :   ;Most optimal place to hitchhike seems to be :Go to '0' floatmetrostation « Porte d'Arras »''. From there walk in the direction of the motorway, cross the bridge. On the left you will see an accelerating lane going onto the motorway (=Motorway A25, which joins the A1 to Paris after about 1 km). You can stand next to the traffic lights just before the ramp with a sign. Or stand on the ramp itself, people have time to stop on the ramp. (NOTE after about 1 km this motorway joins the A1 to Paris, but the motorway does ALSO turns direction of Gent, so if your heading North, this ''metrostation « Porte d'Arras »'right'/>-alternatieve is also a good place.) Testimonies:

You * [[User:Garthelgard|Garthelgard]] has hitchhiked from this spot more than twenty times and has never waited more than 30 minutes. * In August 2012 somebody added: "The best place to go anywhere is the hard shoulder near ''metrostation « Porte d'Arras »'' follow Highway-signs. Within 20 minutes more cars heading towards several directions stopped." * Lastrik tried this alternative, they tried for two and a half hours before going somewhere else   ;Alternative 1Go to ''metro station « Valenciennes »''. Walking to the north, after about 100 meters you can avoid getting stuck in Lille by getting out at go eastwards and follow the last petrol station on "''Avenue Denis Cordonnier''". The A1 crosses this "''Avenue Denis Cordonnier''". And there is an entrance to the A1. (The Hostel/Auberge de jeunesse "Aire de repos de CarvinStephane Hessel" is quite a big stationon crossing of "''Avenue Denis Cordonnier''" and "''Boulevard Paul Painlevé''". Address: ''235, good for hitchingBoulevard Paul Painlevé'')  ;Alternative 2 At the end of ''Boulevard des Cités Unies'' (at the side of the railways). 300 meters eastwards from ''metrostation « Lille Grand Palais »'', and ityou find an entrance to the A1 direction Paris.  ;Alternative 3Go to ''metro station « Porte de Douai »''s 15km due . Walk or hitch 4 km south from (direction Ronchin). Or take the centrebus "Liane 1". After 4 km you will see a Novotel on your lefthand. There is a roundabout where there is a sign direction A1 Paris. Howeverthere is no direct access to the A1, in the traffic direction of Brussels it might be Paris soon joins the A1 (After several hundreds meter, so if you walk to the south, you will come to the next roundabout, here there is a bit difficult theredirect access to A1. Most people go towards Ghent and Antwerp thereAnd cars can stop for you.)

Or else;Alternative 4''« Aire de Phalempin »'' in the south of Lille remain the best spot to get to this direction. There are several ways to commute to this gas station. First, you can take a regional train from ''Gare de Lille-Flandres'' to ''Seclin'' (15-minute long ride). There are higher chances to get controlled on the train.An other way to get there is to take the bus L92 to Seclin Gare or the gas staion bus 55 to ''Seclin Le Riez''. From there on , walk for about 15 minutes to ''"Aire de Phalempin"''A ticket for the N356 about 800m north Ilevia network cost 1.70 EUR, as of metro station Mons SartsJanuary 2022. (Need It is hard to jump a small fence fraud in buses, and get through some bushes the chances to get into here)controlled on regional trains are high. From here you can Try at least to find lifts going into Belgium and have a ticket on the chance floor in any station, as it is better to talk to drivershave an 'invalid ticket' in case of a control.

The '''border''' is also quite a good spot. To get there you'll have to take === Going Northeast? Take the Line 2 of the metro until "C. H. Dron" (last stop, and actually already in Turcoing, not in Lille). It takes more than 30 minutes from the center of Lille though. From there to the A1 is about 25-30 minute walk (just follow the signs indicating the motorway from the roundabout next to the exit of the station). The A1 on ramp there is not a very good place to be, you can try for a few minutes though if you're already tired walking. Otherwise the border is some 1 kilometer down the highway. There is space to walk behind the safety barrier. Once thereA22/E17 towards [[Antwerpen|Antwerp]], you'll see the abandoned border terminal. Get past it[[Gent]], and there will be plenty of room to hitch. Speed is limited to 70 km/h there. You can try to catch a ride into the Netherlands or just get a ride to the gas station 5 km into Belgium at Kortrijk where loads of [[Netherlands folk stop for a refill.]] ===

* The ''metrostation « Porte d'Last verified'Arras »''-alternative described above at "Going south?" seems to be good: August 2012. The best place see for description and testimonials above at "Going south?", but consider to go anywhere is the hard shoulder near Porte dheld up a '''"BELGIQUE/BELGIE"-'''- ,'''"B"'''- or '''"GAND/GENT"'''arras Metro station - just follow the signs to Highway. Within 20 minutes many cars heading towards every directions stopped. To Brussels use sign B and you get there very easy.

Going south ? Have a "Paris" sign. In case you want to go to the south of FranceOtherwise, Italy or Spain, have a sign like "Reims / Lyon". Going into Paris takes a lot of time.You can play it safe and have an "Aire de Phalempin" sign which is take the first petrol station on the A1 going tram-line T to ParisChateau Rouge. If As you get out, you can reach this petrol station "Aire de Phalempin" it seems a good way to going southsee the motorway.(On Google Maps it seems you could walk to this petrol station, from The spot is the village of Seclin, south of Lille. Seclin has a train stationmotorway slip road.)There are several options to hitch hike direction A1/A26. Following the A26 is 's not a better option if you want to go rather quickly to south lot of France. Hitchhiking through the metropole of Paris traffic, but there is time consuming.To go via the A26 southwards direction Reims its quite senseless space for drivers to ask people at the "Aire de Phalempin". Rather let someone take safely pull over and pick you to the Peage right before the junction between A1/A26. Stand at the Peage with a Sign "A26/Reims" makes more senseup.

;First optionAt Or else, get to the petrol station on the end N356 about 800m north of "Boulevard des Cités Unies" metro station Monts Sarts. (at the side of the railwaysNeed to jump a small fence and a 2 meter drop! There is a place for your foot so you can slide and jump, but it is still quite a wall). 300 meters eastwards from metro « Lille Grand Palais », From here you can find an entrance lifts going into Belgium and have the chance to talk to the A1 direction Parisdrivers.

;Second optionGo * '''Update January 2022'''The gas station is currently closed (due to metrostation « Valenciennes »construction?). Walking to the north, after about 100 meters If you can go eastwards and follow the "Boulevard de Verdun". The A1 crosses this "Boulevard de Verdun". And there is an entrance want to the A1. In 2014 get there are big building activities of new flats. And the boulevard itself will be changed enormously. So best advice seems , try to be, just follow the signs "Paris"find information if it's reopened.

;Third optionGo to metrostation « Porte dThe '''French/Belgian border'''Arras »is not a good spot anymore. From there walk in the direction It is now just a big parking lot where trucks stop, all sign of the motorwayprevious building there have vanished, cross the bridge it is hard to hitch on the left highway as hardly any car stops there. To get there you will see an accelerating lane going onto 'll have to take the Line 2 of the ring metro until "C. H. Dron" (last stop, and actually already in Tourcoing, not in Lille). And walk 30 to 45 Min to it there is the A25, which joins the A1 an access road with to Paris after avout 1 kmfence or barrier stopping people on foot. The best is You might be able to stand next get a ride to the traffic lights just before the ramp with petrol station 5 km into Belgium at Kortrijk where loads of Netherland folk stop for a sign. People have time to stop on the ramp if they want to take you. [[User:Garthelgard|Garthelgard]] has hitchhiked from this spot more than twenty times and has never waited more than 30 minutesrefill.

;Fourth optionGo to metrostation « Porte de Postes ». Here is a big roundabout. It's possible to get a ride === Going east? Take the A27 towards [[Tournai ]](= Doornik in almost any direction. It's safe for cars to pull over and one can ask also at the traffic lights.Flemish), [[Brussels]] ===

=== A22/E17 South towards [[Paris]] ===;Alternative 1Take Getting on the tram-line line T A27 by feet from the centre of Lille is several kilometers. A good option is go to Chateau Rouge"metro station « 4 Cantons »". As you get outFrom there it is about 500 meters to a roundabout which is situated west of the N227, you'll see where the motorway directly in front D146 (a part of you. The spot this D146 is called "''Rue Nicolas Appert''") is crossing the motorway slip road - youthis N227 (which carries the name "''ll see it signposted Boulevard du Breucq'Paris'. It is not ideal - especially if there ", and is more than one part of you the E17). Avoid the working hours and you have baggage - because days: this entrance to the slip road highway has a lot of traffic sometimes, and not so much room for a car to stop safely. It is curvedbetter to do it early in the morning. This presents Have a safety issue that puts '''"TOURNAI"-sign'''. Why? Because many drivers off and there are no lorries, rather it is is largely traffic domestic to Lillecars take the direction of [[Valenciennes]] instead.

When I was there there wasn't a lot of traffic, but there is an additional lane which allows drivers to safely pull in and pick you up. The problem is that not all the cars taking this route are going to be heading south - make a sign and be patient. 'September 2017: [[User:International BobRoelguldemond|International Bobroel guldemond]] stopped a number of cars heredropped Nati, from Argentina, and got onto at this roundabout 11h00 in the A1 within morning. She claimed to found a hitch in 5 minutes.''January 2022: Thomi found a hitch there in less than 10 minutes at 07h30. but an hour.other time, no one stopped in two hours of waiting at 11h00'''''

If ;Alternative 2The first gas station on this highway, ''Aire de Froyennes'', is right before Tournai. To get there, you can find somewhere also take a regional train from Lille, Pont de Bois, Ascq or Baisieux to Froyennes. The border crossing by train is very expensive, so the best way to hitch a lift get there safe is to a nearbye service station have an Ilevia train ticket (on 1.70 EUR), which is valid in the whole territory of the Paris bound motorwayEuropean Metropolis of Lille (MEL) this . Once the train crosses the border, just hope that the controller won't show up - worse case, use your best acting skills to pretend that you thought Froyennes was part of the metropolis.It is much bettera very quiet village in which you'll have to walk around 15 minutes to reach the gas station. From there, most of the cars go to Brussels but you can easily find a hitch to the main Wallonian cities ([[User:Pete the Temp|Pete the TempMons]], [[Charleroi]], [[Namur]], [[Liège]] ).''(January 2022 Thomi put his thumb up, and a friend failed on the above spot second car stopped and got proposed a lift ride to a service staion the next day and found a lift quite easily.Brussels)''

=== Going Northwest? Take the subway to Saint-Philibert A25 towards [[Dunkerque]], [[Calais]], [[London]] (red linesee [[English channel]] crossing). Then take the bus 61 (to this place===See above, there is only one direction possible) going north: Go to CENTRE COMMERCIAL (ENGLOS)''metro station « Porte de Postes »''. Here, go back to the roundabout (20 meters). There is a direction to DUNKERQUEbig roundabout. There is not so much place to stop but the traffic isn't very high and cars are slow. If people don't reach Dunkerque directly, doesn't matter, thatIt's possible to get a ride in the good several directions. Westwards : direction anyway. Go with them and take the entrance... Even with slow traffic, bad weather, you will find a lift very quickly. There are two area services between Englos and Calais/Dunkerque, and no one between Dunkerque and Calais(via A25).Most of the truckers you will see in service areas will go in England and For those going with them permit to through Calais or Britain, the sea for free!!Event if it's long last gas station is Aire de Saint Laurent, located northeast from the town of Steenvorde. Make sure to stop there to waiting for them, it could be nice!avoid being stranded in Dunkerque.

--[[User:Roelguldemond|Roelguldemond]] ([[User talk:Roelguldemond|talk]]) 12:19, 11 December 2013 (CET)''Comment by Roel september 2017 : I edited this page intensively. I have been deleting quite some information which seemed to be outdated or redundant. I described several options. Sure there are more options! But I have tried lots of these possibilities myself.'' == About the subway Transportation ==There are check-tickets, often. And that's not so easy to know where they are and when... If you are frencha French speaker, they are not nice = if you don't pay the bill, they will take money on your bank account directly (for me, it was one year after but VERY expensive... so even if you don't live in Lille but in France, an advice: pay sooner as possible...) I don't know what happened for strangers... Maybe, they won't worry you too much.you You can buy an 3 inter-stations ticket. It's for 0.70€, three stops (without the departure station) but they can't really check where did you start your trip :) and it's half less expensive. The commuting network covers the whole [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9tropole_Europ%C3%A9enne_de_Lille European Metropolis of Lille] (or MEL). It means that when you activate an Ilevia ticket, it is valid in the whole territory of this metropolis for one hour in metros, buses, tramways and even [https://www.ter.sncf.com/hauts-de-france/offres/tarifs-et-abonnements/mobilite-metropole-lilloise regional trains running in the MEL].