Hospice Comtesse Museum (Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse)

The basics

The Hospice Comtesse Museum, in the heart of Old Lille, was formerly a hospital that operated from 1237 right up until 1939. Among the multiple buildings on-site, some of which date back to the 15th century, there’s the former hospital ward with a paneled barrel-vault ceiling, and a chapel decorated with the coats of arms of the hospital’s benefactors. The buildings, which also housed a community of Augustine nuns, are centered around two courtyards and a garden of plants with medicinal properties.

The museum is designed to recreate the feeling of a small Flemish convent—on the ground floor you can visit the kitchen, lined with Delft-inspired tiles, and see works of art and sculpture, while upstairs you can tour the nun’s dormitory, where exhibits show what daily life was like in Lille in times past. Learn more about the history of the city with a guided walking tour.

Things to know before you go

• Entry to the museum is free for Lille City Pass holders.
• The museum is partly wheelchair accessible.
• English language guidebooks are available on-site.

How to get there

Lille is a northern city in France, near the Belgian border. It’s well connected to London via the Eurostar train and Paris via the TGV fast train. The Hospice Comtesse Museum is in the center of Old Lille (Vieux-Lille) on 32 Rue de la Monnaie, and is within walking distance of the main train station. A city shuttle (Navette Vieux Lille) operates a hop-on, hop-off service in the Old Town.

When to get there

The museum is open every day, except Tuesday, and is closed Monday mornings and some holidays. It’s not usually too crowded, but it can get busy on weekend afternoons.

A city of students

Aside from being France’s 4th largest city, Lille is also one of the country’s best-known college towns, with over 100,000 students living in the city at any time. For visitors, this means plenty of cultural attractions, from theater to cinema, and energetic nightlife.