Paris1972-Versailles2003

And I bring you up the north again. Well family is around there a bit north and we have gone often. Once from the idea of seeing their Christmas market we went, and it was a wonderful experience. And we have come back to Arras! Let me tell you a bit on this is Arras !!! Hope you enjoy it as I And on my wandering road warrior trips in my belle France, I have come to the Pas de Calais department 62 in the region of Hauts de France. First, it was for no reason at all than visiting family not far, and then, we came back for the Christmas market, and then more.  I like to tell you a bit more on Arras, a very moving historical city to many with vivid history of WWI especially. I like this time to concentrate on the Place des Héros and the Grand Place (Heroes square and Big square respectively). I have written on Arras in general before in my blog, just to recap.  We came to Arras, a wonderful town  to walk and see. We all come here for the Beffroi or belltower, a must in the city to climb it. built from 1453-1554, it was a lookout point in WWI with its 75 meters high ( 249 ft)  towards 3 kms to the east where the front was. admission was 2.80€ and it is UNESCO. You can see the Boves or the underground tunnels, it house 24 000 British soldiers during  WWI, and can be seen for a modest admission of less than 6€. The Musée des Beaux-Arts or fine arts can be seen for less than 5€.  It is at 22 ruer Paul Doumer,  housed in a wonderful  building of the monastic architecture of the 18C that is the abbey of Saint-Vaast, it has a medieval collection, school of Arras paintings, and porcelains in its gorgeous room or salle des Mays. Come see the Carriére Wellington, chalk caves where soldiers hid during WWI, and started from the offensive of 1917 with 24K British soldiers, admission was less than 7€, and then you have the Citadelle ,built 1667-1672 by Vauban, known as the unused beauty as Arras never had a siege after its contruction, it has a Chapel on the side, the oldest religious building in Arras. It is by Blvd Gen de Gaulle. Here you have one of the best Christmas markets in France( Marché de Nôel) by the Grand Place , and certainly the best in the North,and the Saturday morning market at Place des Héros. The first belfries were used to sound the alarm and gathered the troops in case of an attack, However, from the 11C, the economic push of the cities and a new class made them serve other purposes such as prisons, keeper of the seal and place of meeting of aldermens, Therefore, to show this economic power, one builds a belfry higher than the next town, Until the construction of the belfry of Lille in 1929, the one in Arras was the highest with 75 meters, and built since 1453 ! , The clock is seen on its four faces to be seen by the entire population, and to show the influence of the church, The sound had meanings, such as Banclocque to call the aldermen to meetings, Effroy yells fire, couvre feu meaning sunrise and sunset , and Guet the monitoring of the city . Today the belfry serves a rallient point of the town where concerts are held like in Arras every Saturday morning, The Citadelle was built between 1668-1672 as a defense in square format as wanted by Vauban, to protect the kingdom from invasion by the Spanish low countries but was never attack. There is a theater on the Italian model built in 1785 and renovated last in 2007. The fine arts museum has sculptures, objects of art, and painting collections from the Flemish, Dutch, Italian, and French schools . There is an agreement between the city and the chateau de Versailles to offered collaboration that will give the museum a royal domain look (of course). And just to put up  a bit more on these two wonderful streets of historical Arras! The Place des Héros is a beautiful square in Arras . The place of Heroes was built from 1463 to 1554 and will be enlarged two times in 1572 and 1658. Under the Belfry, the city/town Hall.lined with a splendid strengthened canvas over 50 meters long and tracing the life of the Arrageois in the 16C, it is also covered with magnificent carved woodwork that adorn the Hall of Honor. A place to visit, the belfry not only houses the tourist office but also allows you to enjoy a breathtaking view of the city it protects.  The Petite Place or small square takes the name of Place des Héros in 1945, in connection with the resistance fighters of the town of WWII having been shot here. The square Place des Héros also called the Petite Place was bordered with wooden houses and arcades housing shops, taverns, cellars etc as well as a subterranean cave of chalk that can be visited, You can climb the Beffroi or belfry with an elevator lift to see great views of the city, and also entered the cellars. You go on to the Saint Vaast neighborhood, to see the Hôtel de Ville gothic flamboyant style and a Renaissance facade ! When you take the rue de la Taillerie you see the glorious past of bed sheets in Arras as in the Middle Ages the hall of bed sheets was found here. Move on to the Place Guy-Mollet to the left see at no 4 rue du Marché-au-Filé, the Mont de Piété the first example of gables made of curves and countercurves, The huge abbey of Saint-Vaast rebuilt in the 18C in classical architecture today houses the fine arts museum or musée des Beaux-Arts d’Arras, and the municipal library. Originally founded in the 7C ; the Church became the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Vaast after the old cathedral was destroyed during the French revolution. The lower town has the district that link the city to the Citadelle, around the place Victor-Hugo, built in 1756 in an octagonal shape of which in the center an obelisk was placed.   The Rue de la Taillerie connects it to the Grand Place. The square is big which is characterized by a completely mineral aspect that is found in many cities of the old Netherlands. The origin of the Grand-Place of Arras is not certain. This is the historic and main square of the city. The square is surrounded by 155 houses marked by the influence of the Flemish Baroque style in a classic 17C French architecture. Like the place of the heroes, the Flemish influence is visible notably by the voluted gables overlooking the square, as well as the arcades at the front of the houses; the arcades are supported by 345 pillars. Arras’s Christmas Market takes place on the Grand Place from the end of November to the end of December. The very commercial nice shopping rue de la Housse is very vibrant and great walks indeed. Mind you this street was completely destroyed during WWII and since nicely rebuilt. The picture is the street going towards the Church St John the Baptist. The Grand’Place and the Place des Héros are perpendicular and link by the rue de la Taillerie with 17 square km ! The two squares are bordered with 55 facades of the 17C to 18C and 300 columns , unique in the world ! All rebuilt after the Great War or WWI. The facades at Place des Héros, and especially the houses with 3 cockerels at no 9, a siren at no 13 and a whale at no 64, On the Grand’Place you see the Maison des Trois Luppars the oldest from the 15C. The square includes the communal Beffroi or belfry as well as the city/town hall.. Like the Grand Place, the Flemish influence is visible in particular by the volute gables overlooking the square, as well as the arcades in front of the houses. The houses of Grand’Place and Place des Héros have two underground passages. During the bombardments of 1944, they were used as a shelter and as a medical center. This giant network of underground passages (called Boves) has been made open to visitors since 1982. The city of Arras on its history: https://www.arras.fr/page/decouvrez-l-histoire-d-arras The Arras tourist office on its heritage: https://www.arraspaysdartois.com/en/the-essentials/dont-miss-the-must-sees-of-arras-the-top-10/ The local Arras country of Artois tourist office: https://www.arraspaysdartois.com/en/the-essentials/the-squares-of-arras-la-dolce-vita/ Again is a magical town of history recent, and well worth the detour. We stop by on our way to visit family each time we can. Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Arras as I. And remember , happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!