

Lille Natural History Museum (Musée d'Histoire Naturelle de Lille)
Opened in 1822, Lille's Natural History Museum (Musée d'Histoire Naturelle de Lille) is one of Lille’s oldest and is the only of its kind in Nord / Pas-de-Calais. The fact that the museum still stands to this day is nothing short of a miracle, seeing as it overcame two World Wars and yet continued adding items to its ever-expanding collections – that now comprises of over 200,000 specimens. It now focuses on two main themes, mineralogical and zoological. The former has tens of thousands of minerals and paleontological items, some of which date back 400 million years. The latter, on the other hand, contains 1,500 mammals, 1,000 reptiles and 100,000 insects to name a few, including several now-extinct species from around the world like the Iguanodon dinosaur, the Tasmanian Tiger and the Passenger Pigeon. Throughout its exhibitions the museum present the history of earth and life with various interactive displays and informative posters, encouraging visitors to care for the rapidly disappearing species and preserve the planet’s precious legacy.
Practical Info
The Museum of Natural History is located on rue de Bruxelles in Lille, close to Lille Grand Palais metro station. The closest parking is located on rue de Cambrai. Entry costs €4 per adult and €2.60 per child. The museum is closed on Tuesdays. It is otherwise open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30AM to 5PM, and on weekends from 10AM to 6PM.
Trip ideas
- Things to do in Nord-Pas de Calais
- Things to do in Bruges
- Things to do in Brussels
- Things to do in Zaventem
- Things to do in Dordrecht
- Things to do in Rotterdam
- Things to do in Marne-la-Vallée
- Things to do in Paris
- Things to do in Amsterdam
- Things to do in Horley
- Things to do in Stansted Mountfitchet
- Things to do in Luxembourg City
- Things to do in Deauville City
- Things to do in Flanders
- Things to do in South Holland
- Lille Town Hall and Belfry (Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Lille)
- Grand Place
- Lille Old Town (Vieux Lille)
- Lille Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille)
- Museum of the Gunners in Lille (Musée des Canonniers Sédentaires de Lille)
- Hospice Comtesse Museum (Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse)
- Birthplace of Charles de Gaulle (Maison Natale de Charles de Gaulle)
- Lille Museum of Fine Arts (Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille)
- Science Forum (Forum Departmental Des Sciences)
- Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art (LAM)
- Villa Cavrois
- La Piscine Museum (Musée d'Art et d’Industrie André Diligent)
- Le Fresnoy National Studio for Contemporary Arts (Le Fresnoy Studio National des Arts Contemporains)
- La Manufacture de Roubaix
- Maison Folie Hospice d'Havré