HotelChatter

Think cosy rooms off vaulted brick cloisters around a 900 square metre glass-roofed courtyard, in which you'll find the piano-bar and restaurant. It both looks and feels super-peaceful and civilised. Perhaps a bit too civilised at times. The clientele look in general the comfortable middle-aged type, so at least you'll get a good night's sleep.

83 rooms and suites, all now comfortably heated and done up with king-sized beds, mini-bars and marble bathrooms. Wi-Fi, too. It's not great luxury, but it's clean and comfortable and quietly stylish. Just think of those poor old nuns shivering in the cold and washing in buckets of icy water....creature comforts weren't the same in the 17th century.

We've not tried the restaurant, but we bet it's better than the old nuns' kitchens that were here. Breakfasts are reportedly good and included in the price.

The Couvent de Minimes is not in the very centre of Lille, but that's part of the attraction - you've come here to get away from it all and there's both a small canal and a 50 hectare park, the Bois de Boulogne, on your doorstep. Lille's so tiny, at any rate, that it's only a short walk or metro ride into the centre. Best bit if you've got kids to get rid of is the in-house crèche.

Standard rates are around €235 ($360) for two people for one night (including breakfast), but Lille's not a top tourist destination so you'll wangle a cheaper deal in low season.