IF YOU’RE after a last-minute city break abroad, I’ve found a hack to bag cheap fares to an often-overlooked destination that’s not top of the tourist hotspots.
It could even be cheaper than a UK staycay, if you time it right to book your tickets.
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Even better, you can stock up on bottles of good quality beer for less than two quid to bring home.
I went to check out Lille in northern France for a couple of nights, as it’s the only Eurostar city I’d never visited in its own right.
I’ve passed through a few times on my travels but never left the station, so it was interesting to see what it’s got to offer compared to bigger cities like Paris or Amsterdam.
Right on the Belgian border, it came as no surprise that the charming old town, with its narrow cobbled streets, was a mix of Flemish and French building styles.
I particularly enjoyed browsing through secondhand books and comics in the courtyard inside the old stock exchange, just off Grand Place.
And while there was a buzz around the city centre with plenty of visitors and locals milling about, nowhere felt overcrowded with tourists.
The train journey to northern France can actually cost less than getting to London from my home in the Midlands, and you can book much further in advance for international travel, so it’s better for budgeting too.
Eurostar tickets are available up to eight months ahead, while domestic train travel is usually only bookable 12 weeks in advance.
I snapped up a cheap £70 return ticket during the Eurostar flash sale in January, but even at normal prices, you can head to Lille for just £78 return.
And using the recently relaunched Eurostar Snap system, you can bag a last-minute £70 return for some dates in the next fortnight.
For the same time period, all the advance fares between Loughborough and London have usually sold out, so a last-minute trip to the capital would cost me £79.80 for a super off-peak return.
If you’re flexible on times, it could be more cost-effective to travel to France than to stay in the UK.
The thing I love about Eurostar is that the ticketing prices and system seem fairly straightforward, compared to booking a domestic train ticket.
If I wanted to take a UK city break, a train trip to Edinburgh could cost me more than £200 return from my nearest station, even booking months in advance at off-peak prices.
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Manchester would be a better choice for me for a budget break in the UK, as a return fare would only be £53 from the Midlands.
But there’s a few different ways of making Eurostar fares more affordable all year round.
You can swap Nectar points accrued at Sainsbury’s, Argos or eBay for vouchers worth £10 or more to pay towards your fare.
That could take a hefty chunk off your travel costs, if you’ve got lots of Nectar points saved up.
Once you’ve booked your travel, you can bid to upgrade your seat if your standard ticket is eligible.
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Bids to bag a seat in Eurostar Plus, with food and drink included, start at £25 each way, but that’s still a saving compared to buying a better ticket at the start of the booking process, as they can cost £30-£45 more than a standard fare.
I did my Lille getaway for less than £150 for travel and accommodation and paid just £55 for two nights in the centre of Lille.
As it’s a walkable destination, I saved on travel costs getting around the sights and there’s not the same risk as when you book a hostel or hotel in London or Paris that you might end up miles away from where you want to be.
Lille’s Palais des Beaux-Arts is one of the largest art collections in France and cost just €7 (£5.87) to visit, compared to €22 (£18.45) to enter the Louvre in Paris.
Make sure you check out if any of the visitor attractions offer free entry during your stay – I enjoyed a trip up the town hall bell tower for views over the city, which is free on the first Wednesday of the month.
And Lille’s a great place to grab a pint from one of its famous breweries.
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There’s something for all tastes and pockets. I’m a wine drinker and got a glass for just €5 (£4.20), compared to spending £6.50 at a bar near St Pancras before I set off.
My morning coffee and pastry, from a corner cafe overlooking an old square, was about £4.50.
And while most trips to France are a great chance to stock up on wine and cheese to bring home, this is the perfect place to grab some bottles of Belgian and French beer.
Even the small city centre supermarkets have shelves full of ale, with prices starting at just €2 (£1.64), for beer that would cost twice that here in Blighty.
You just need to be a bit careful about how much you bring aboard the train, as Eurostar only accepts one bottle of wine or four beers per passenger for consumption during the journey.
You can bring a little bit more to remain unopened in your luggage for drinking at home, but the advice is to ship large quantities by courier, so you can’t go mad with what you bring back in your luggage.
If you’re looking for somewhere that’s cheap and easy to get to, with an old town you can walk around without fighting your way through the crowds, maybe Lille should be on your list of last-minute locations for a laidback little getaway?
Sun Travel’s favourite train journeys in the world
Sun Travel’s journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.
Davos to Geneva, Switzerland
“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire
Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey
London to Paris by Eurostar
“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski
Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail
“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton
Beijing to Ulaanbatar
“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray
The Sun’s Travel team recently revealed their favourite European holiday destinations to visit in March and April.
Meanwhile, this European city was named the world’s cheapest holiday destination.
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