Immersive tour of Lille during World War I｜France

What was the everyday life of a German soldier like in an occupied city during World War I?

During this immersive guided visit, we'll walk the streets of Lille in the footsteps of a German soldier stationed in the city during the German occupation, between 1914 and 1918.

Through the places that were part of his daily life — the streets he walked, the buildings occupied by the German authorities, the places where the soldiers stayed, and the spaces where they interacted with the local population — we'll discover what it was like to live in Lille during one of the most difficult periods in its history.

But this tour isn't just about major battles or military events. We'll take a special look at everyday life during the occupation: the arrival of German troops, the restrictions imposed on the population, the military presence in the streets, shortages, compulsory labor, relations between soldiers and civilians, and the difficulties of living in a city located very close to the Western Front.

Throughout the tour, you'll also learn how the German administration of Lille functioned and how the city was progressively transformed under the occupation.

This tour is led by a certified official tour guide who is a specialist in the period. He will wear a faithful reproduction of a German World War I uniform to help you visualize what the presence of German soldiers in the streets of Lille was like.

The goal is not to recreate the war as a theatrical performance, but to use immersion and historical commentary to better understand a reality that is often forgotten behind the trenches of the Western Front.

Each location on the tour will allow us to reconstruct a part of this history and, for two hours, put ourselves in the shoes of those who experienced the occupation from within the city.