palais des beaux arts

JP56_10

Plenty to see over a couple of hours ranging over several centuries and different categories of art. Also good cafe and shop

0margueriteg

Lots to see in this magnificent building. A great range from early Flemish paintings to the impressionists. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were impressed with the variety and quality of art.

Exqs

A great selection of fine art ( more National Gallery than Tate Gallery ) the basement area is a bit of a mixed bag of artifacts with some models of historical town layouts which may be of limited interest.

ColleenN27

Not so crowded, space to move, excellent iPod self tour free with ticket ( need to leave Id as security). A gem of a museum. Great mix of ancient Egyptian through 20th century. We had brunch in the cafe inside. Not a broad selection but very good sandwiches, fresh salad and excellent choc brownie. It was a Sunday visit so nice to have something open so close.We spent about 3 hours with an 8 year old setting the pace. Could have easily spent another hour or more if interested in all periods.

devexit

It is worth visiting but there was not in my books that much famous art pieces as I was expecting. 90 to 120 minutes and you have seen everything.

TheChimp2009

This is one of the best museums I have been to. When we visited in February it was very quiet and I was surprised there were not more people there. The cost was very cheap - €7 for two of us with a Eurostar discount. The audio guide was also free and gave an excellent commentary on the works of art. The museum has works of art by a lot of the great artists/scultors - Rubens, Renoir, Rodin etc.

dadarren

I went here during the week and I was absolutely surprised at the beauty not only of the collections but also of the building itself. I loved walked around the cavernous basement. It was a tranquil, relaxing way to spend my day. Staff were very friendly.Note: The day I went it seemed that some collections may have been closed during the lunch hour. They opened them at about 13h. If there's a collection you're really hoping to see you might want to check ahead of time to ensure it's open.Tip: During the weekdays it's generally nice & quiet. There will probably be the odd school group with some chatty kids, but kids in a museum is a wonderful thing.

mikeg_travels

There are an amazing number of paintings, varieties and styles. Some of the great masters, and well known paintings can be seen. A lot are religious, especially Rubens. There is a lot of walking as its a large grand building with stairs. Some pictures were poorly positioned, as hung so high, others were difficult to see and identify their label.

ValerieJ50

I last went to the Lille Palais des beaux arts about 10 years ago. I liked it even more as they now lend freely special ipod with narrative explanations of some art works. Choose the French language option if you can as not all of them are explained in English. The portraits and religion arts were my personal favorite. Turns out my partner prefers modern art which I breezed through quickly. Sad for him as it was only 1 room compared to the 4 other big ones dedicated to all the other paintings, lol !We spent nearly half a day there and could have spent a bit more if the sculpture room were open. A refurbishment is currently ongoing.The palais shall be bigger and better by the end of January 2015 !

255100Traveler

Second in France only to The Louvre, 22000 square feet of prestigious collections of European paintings from 15th to 20th centuries. Fantastic!

Zoeboomahh

The museum is normally closed on tuesdays. We found it open (30 December) as it was due to be closed on New Year's Day. We were charged the full price (including the exhibition) which was €18 for an adult and under 25. The Egyptian exhibition left a lot to be desired and was sped through, however we enjoyed looking at the paintings on the first floor. I would point out at this stage that my wife and I know very little about art, and don't pretend to. I couldn't tell you if the horizon was deliberately placed high on the canvas to allow extra diagonal subject crossing blah blah, you get the idea. The collection seemed nice enough to us. As my wife is pregnant we we're pleased to find plenty of places to sit down and enjoy the view. I would recommend the audio guide (especially to artphobes like Us). It was very informative and gave a good explanation of some (not all) of the paintings on display. Worth a visit if you have an afternoon and €20 to spare.

rodrigor556

I lived in Lille back in 2012, for about a month, and made a point to know the city; The museum was one of my first stops, and my first let down. In spite of the facts that there are some good pieces in the museum, unless you're going in Sunday morning, it's not worth the entrance fee at all. The audio guide does little to help that fact also. The exhibit in the basement is a waste of time and if you definitely have time to spare, the top floor is worth an hour of your time or so. Not any more.

Mariannewfc

This attraction is free on the first Sunday of every month and I would only recommend going then. The building is very impressive from the outside but inside, the collection is quite small and there isn't much variety. The impressionism paintings are enjoyable but the rest of the collection is full of dark, religious paintings which I am personally not a big fan of. The audio guide is included in the price of the ticket which is good but it is quite difficult to understand when to use it as the signs are not clear.

HermanVIII

Must visit when you are in Lille. Nice, varied collection. Same real masterpieces.For us the 'Plans reliefs' were also very interesting.

sbspeedo1

We were quite lucky - as it turns out the permanent exhibitions are free on the first sunday of the month, so we got a free visit. Pretty good selection of art in there. They say it is the next biggest after the louvre but I dunno about that.Nice to have a wander though - they've got some works by many famous artists.