Lille Travel Forum

Hi, my aged parents are arriving in Lille on 9 Sept 08 and wish to visit the military cemetery at La Gorgue (or is it Levantie?). They are staying at Hotel Des Tours, can they get to the cemetery using public transport, if so which bus train and from where in Lille?
Any other help on exact location of graves would be welcomed
Many thanks in advance

Laventie is only about 15/16 miles NW of Lille ( which is a lovely OLD town)
and it has one of the most helpful of Tourist offices

http://www.lilletourism.com/index_gb.php

We did not stay in the hotel that your parents will be in but I am sure their Hotel Reception staff would advise on public transport. The Metro system does go out quite a distance into the suburbs but I'm not sure it goes as far as Laventie.
You might find these web links helpful:-

http://ww1cemeteries.com/ww1frenchcemeteries/laventiemil.htm

http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=34300&mode=1
When we were in Lille last year tours by mini-bus to the military cemeteries could be arranged through the tourist office.

I hope this is of help.

If you need to track down the public transport info, then start with this site:
http://www.transpole.fr/accueil/hp.aspx

A quick play with the 'Iteneraires' section shows that the recommended route is to take the metro (Line 1) to Lille-CHR B Calmette and then change onto the bus service 213 (destination Estaires). The destination I put in was La Gorgue - Pavé de Laventie. Note that the bus service isn't very frequent (maybe 3 per day) so worth checking the 'horaires':
http://www.transpole.fr/horaire/pdf/ligne_213.pdf

The sites recommended by Ranger should give you enough detail to locate the war cemetery precisely. Hope it goes well.

Many thanks for both repiles, however as my French is not so good (30 years since I left School)I cannot understand the Transpole website. Is the full site available in English or am I correct in thinking bus 213 goes to Levantie?
Karen

Yes, bus 213 goes from metro Calmette to Levantie, on its way to Estaires. The CWGC site above gives directions from Laventie (a walk of one mile) to the cemetery. I hope that's not too much of a trek for your parents. There is a taxi company in Laventie (Taxis de l'Alloeu, 03 21 25 29 29). If they find that they the bus timetable gives them a long wait, I've been recommended a gourmet restaurant there: Le Cerisier
http://www.lecerisier.com/index.php
Closed Sunday evening, Monday all day and Saturday lunchtime.

And another, possibly useful, contact:
http://www.ville-laventie.fr/visu.htm (the town hall at Laventie - it has an email address)

A polite request here may turn up some other options.

Good luck,

Dunx

Many many thanks for information. I will pass it on regardng bus but for my own peace of mind (as I am unable to travel with them and they speak no french at all) I think a taxi may be easiest & safest. It will be worth the taxi fare for my peace of mind rather than worrying about them being stranded.
Karen