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Car Hire at Lille Europe Train Station - Exploring North-eastern France

Built mostly to cater for high-speed rail services, Lille Europe Train Station (known locally as Gare de Lille-Europe) is one of two mainline railway stations located close to the centre of the north-eastern city of Lille. With both stations situated just a few hundred metres apart, on either side of the busy EuraLille shopping centre, Lille Europe caters principally for TGVs and Eurostar services from Brussels and London) while Lille Flandres is where many of the city's the local trains and TGVs direct from Paris arrive.

Much of the district around Lille Europe Train Station is known as Euralille, an area full of beautiful architecture with many impressive buildings, shops, hotels and places to eat. Opened in 1994, Lille Europe helped upgrade the general image of Lille as a tourist destination, in fact it helped transform Lille from a place located in a corner of France to a central location in the heart of western Europe. The city subsequently grew in stature and popularity due to the importance and regularity of the TGV and Eurostar services arriving at the station.

Another major advantage of Lille Europe Train Station is its closeness to everything; the city centre is an easy 10-minute walk from the station exit. To reach the centre of Lille, passengers just need to leave the station concourse via the main pedestrian exit, walk down the escalators to the arches underneath the road bridge and then head straight into town along Lille's main thoroughfare, the Avenue le Corbusier. Its city station, Lille Flandres, is equally accessible (5 minutes on foot) and connected by a dedicated walkway.

Located in the north-eastern corner of France near the border with Belgium, Lille is a vibrant university city with a bustling cultural life. It has many key tourist areas, most notably Place du Général-de-Gaulle (often referred to Grand'place) which is surrounded by several historic buildings. Lille's Old Town (the Vieux Lille) is a peacful district of narrow cobblestoned streets lined with stylish boutiques and elegant gourmet restaurants in the shadow of the city's magnificent Notre Dame de la Treille Cathedral.

With a car hire from Lille Europe Train Station, visitors can drive away from the city in a few minutes to arrive in the heart of a province dotted with medieval villages and castles. This is the picturesque Nord-Pas-de-Calais region where dozens of irresistible tourist sights exist, such as the charming town of Arras (capital of the Artois province) and Dunkirk, one of the prettiest places on France's enchanting north coast. Art lovers cannot miss the Musée Louvre-Lens in the nearby city of Lens which features many rare pieces on loan from its famous counterpart in Paris.

Founded in 1954, Auto Europe is one of the world’s longest-established car rental brokers. We work with all the world's most prestigious car hire companies at Lille Europe Train Station and elsewhere in north-east France. You can book your car online in just a few clicks or ask our rental specialists for assistance and they will be very happy to find you the best deal. Check out the comments and user ratings posted by other Auto Europe customers on our Lille car hire reviews page.

Station Information

Officially inaugurated in 1994, Lille Europe Train Station is mainly used for international Eurostar and long-distance SNCF (French Railways) TGV services, as well as a number of high-speed regional trains. With its innovative design of modern glass and stylish concrete, the station has four platforms solely for high-speed trains operating mostly between the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands, plus a number of French Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) services, except those coming from Paris which normally terminate at nearby Lille Flandres Train Station located just 450 metres away.

Where to pick up my car hire at Lille Europe Train Station

There are a number of international car hire offices situated very close to the main station concourse in the areas around Pont de Flandres and Place François Mitterrand. Don't forget to have all your documents ready when you arrive to collect your car hire at Lille Europe Train Station, including your passport, driving licence, credit card and rental voucher.

	Alamo at Lille Europe Train Station 238 Pont De Flandres, Face Casino Barriere Lille, France 59777 +33 3 20 06 39 49	Opening Hours: Mon-Wed & Fri 8am-7pm, Thu & Sat 9am-5pm and Sun 4-8pm
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Station facilities

When you arrive to pick up your car rental at Lille Europe Train Station, you'll find the same kind of sandwich shops and snack kiosks you'd expect at an international railway hub. Inside the main concourse, there are bars and coffee shops, many of which are located close to the Eurostar terminal. Theres also a well-stocked mini-market inside the station and for passengers choosing to stay overnight, there's the Crowne Plaza EuroLille and Novotel Suites Lille Europe comrpsied withn the station compound. Besides toilets with baby-changing facilities, there's an on-site bureau de change and some cash machines inside the station and a Relay shop in the Eurostar departure lounge. Other essential facilities exist on the far side of the square opposite the station's main entrance in the EuraLille shopping centre, where free Wi-Fi and a children's play area are also available. For travellers with a bit more time, there are plenty of restaurants, shops, bars and cafés in the city centre a very short drive or a 10-minute walk away.

How to get to and from Lille Europe Train Station

When you rent a car at Lille Europe Train Station, the first thing you'll notice is how close everything is to the station itself. By car, Lille is only an hour and a half drive from the Eurotunnel Terminal in the seaside port town of Calais via the A26 motorway and several other motorways link Lille with other important cities, such as Paris via the A1 (220km), Ghent via the A22 and E17 (75km), Dunkirk via the A25 (80km) and Brussels via the A27 and E42 (just 110km). Lille Europe's sister station, Lille Flandres, is less than 10 minutes away on foot which means that changing trains couldn't be more straightforward. As Lille Europe is a large, modern station serving many international and domestic trains throughout the day, passengers will find that it is well-signposted in multiple languages and served both by metro and tram lines as well as a number of bus routes into and out of Lille city centre.

Parking tips

Parking your car rental at Lille Europe Train Station or in the city centre close to many of the main tourist attractions is an easy process thanks to the many street-level car parks dotted around town offering around 20,000 parking spaces, along with several metro car parks conveniently situated in the inner city. Furthermore, two large underground car parks located at Effia and Indigo are open 24/7. In addition to an abundance of on-street pay-and-display parking possibilities, Lille also has a few excellent park-and-ride facilities located at key metro stations at Porte d'Arras, Porte des Postes, CHU Eurasanté, Saint Philibert, Les Près Edgard Pisani, Triolo and 4 Cantons Stade Pierre Mauroy. A popular choice amongst visitors is the large car park attached to the Lille Europa Train Station A car park on Boulevard de Leeds, from where it's possible to take the bus or metro into town, or perhaps you'd prefer to walk to the city centre in around 10 mnutes.

Useful links

Lille Tourist Info