Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille

We lucked out with no crowds and practically had the place to ourselves, which made the experience even better. I loved the diversity of the collection and the unexpected contrasts throughout. The giants paired with the painted museum walls themselves created such a cool juxtaposition. Calm, inspiring, and full of surprises. Absolutely worth the visit. A must see when in Lille.

This museum was such a nice experience. First of all it is included in your city pass even the temporary exhibit. It was not too crowded to you could take your time and ease to check the art out that is displayed in a very clean and concise way. The temporary exhibit was such a delight to learn about the flemish culture. Absolutely recommended for lille visitors.

Had a great experience here. There is a wide variety of art and styles on display. The building is beautiful to look at on the ground floor and outside. Also the downstairs exhibits were interesting, unfortunately I don’t understand much French. The pov illusions were particularly cool to see.

The Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille feels less like a museum and more like a grand urban palace temporarily entrusted with art. The building itself already sets the tone: vast neoclassical halls, high skylights flooding the interior with soft northern light, and a scale that allows you to breathe between artworks rather than move from painting to painting in a crowd. What makes this museum especially memorable, however, is how confidently it mixes classical architecture with contemporary interventions. In the central atrium, the monumental spiral installation immediately captures attention. Suspended in the open space, the red rings seem to draw your eye inward, almost pulling the perspective toward a vanishing point. It changes the way you perceive the architecture - suddenly the hall is no longer static, but dynamic, almost moving. The installation works not by filling the space, but by reorganizing how you see it. Nearby, the hanging colored glass-like structure floating above the staircase feels almost weightless. From below it resembles a luminous inverted dome or lantern, its mosaic of color catching and softening the daylight. Instead of competing with the classical stone interior, it transforms it - the historical building becomes a stage set for light and color. Equally striking is the long arcade covered with bold blue geometric painting across the arches and vaults. The intervention is intentionally graphic and contemporary, yet it surprisingly emphasizes the rhythm of the historic architecture rather than hiding it. The repetitive arches suddenly become a canvas of movement, almost like walking through a living painting. Even the smaller pieces, like the expressive glazed ceramic monk figures, add an unexpected emotional layer. They are slightly naive, almost human in their vulnerability, and contrast beautifully with the monumentality of the halls around them. The museum succeeds in something rare: it respects its historical grandeur while allowing modern art to reinterpret it. You leave not only remembering individual artworks, but the experience of space itself — light, scale, and perspective constantly shifting as you walk. It is not simply a collection. It is a dialogue between centuries.

This museum is an absolute delight and a must-visit for anyone in the area. From the moment I stepped inside, the atmosphere was welcoming and the collection was impressive. As a first-time visitor, I can confidently say I'll be back. I had a wonderful experience during my visit, spending almost an hour exploring both the special exhibit and the rest of the museum. I was specifically keen on seeing "les Géants," and it certainly did not disappoint! The curation was phenomenal, and the scale and detail of the pieces truly lived up to the name. Importantly, the permanent exhibition also deserves high praise; the quality and depth I saw in the remaining time were fantastic. For first-time visitors, note that purchasing tickets at the museum itself is straightforward and easy. While my time was short, the hour spent exploring provided a fantastic, well-rounded first impression. Highly recommend making a trip to explore this gem!

It is worth a trip to Lille just to go to this museum. The galleries and scale of the art collection is second only to the Louvre. We went on a Friday and it was relatively quiet so quite possible to take your time and enjoy. The map room in the basement is unique.

One of France's finest art museums outside Paris! Impressive range from Flemish masters to modern works. The building itself is gorgeous and the displays are well-curated. Don't miss the sculpture gallery and decorative arts sections. The biggest highlight is the massive reliefs in the basement. Perfect for art lovers and easily accessible in the city center. Allow at least 2-3 hours to do it justice!

A gorgeous building with an impressive art collection, complemented by exceptionally friendly staff in both the café and gift shop. While a bit more signage throughout the museum would make navigation easier, it was otherwise a wonderful visit. This spot definitely deserves a top place on any art lover’s list!

Terrific museum We spent the best part of a rainy Saturday afternoon in this surprisingly good art museum. There was an extensive and varied collection of art and it was terrific value at €7. It would have been great if there had been some information in English.

I'm going to be very upfront in the beginning of this review, when I arrived at Palais des Beaux Arts I was pretty burnt out with museums at this point, it was extremely cold, raining, and we were waiting in a line outside for like twenty minutes so the start to this experience was pretty miserable. Once we got into the building and through the security checkpoint, you could tell right away that this place was pretty beautiful. The building itself is 3 stories and each floor has something a little bit different to offer you. We headed down first and spent some time looking at the statues which were absolutely incredible, followed by the second floor which was a mixture of different pieces of art and a dome style room you could sit on beanbags and watch something. The main event of the show was upstairs where I couldn't even estimate the insane amount of paintings that fill the walls of the different colored rooms. The rooms themselves are all tall and covered from floor to ceiling with such incredible pieces, and everything you think you are done suddenly the red painted rooms turn into white rooms or green rooms and it just keeps going, it was truly remarkable. Overall, the Palais des Beaux Arts was a fantastic place to spend an hour or so learning about French art. Did I leave some stuff out? Yeah, because this was like my 23rd museum and at some point they start blending together. I loved how diverse the art here was and really did enjoy walking around, I highly recommend checking this place out if you are in Lille.

Le Palais des Beaux Arts is a must stop for Arts aficionados. Thankfully Lille is a mini Paris and Lille is known for its art places, the architecture of the building is breath taking. totally recommend

Inside and out the Palais des Beaux Arts is quite a spectacle. The big old building from the outside is architecturally brilliant. On the inside is a wonderful collection of fine arts. It's approx £7 to get in, and you can spend hours wandering the different artworks held within the walls. Well worth a look.

Now, I must say that this type of art museum may not be suitable for everyone, but I personally found this very interesting - one of the largest museums in France (and as I was told, perhaps the largest outside Paris). There is a very good range of art on show here, from your Renaissance oil paintings to a mix of 17th, 18th and 19th century items, right up to the Picasso pieces and early 1900s sculptures. What is more, I found the plain relief models in the basement of this museum to be greatly interesting - numerous French, Belgian and Dutch cities are mapped out on a series of tables - in decent detail too! A couple of hours could easily be spent in this museum.