Arras has two great squares, the Grand-Place and the Place des Héros, surrounded by tall Flemish-baroque houses with curved gables and arcades, and towering above them is the belfry of the town hall, over seventy metres high. It looks medieval, but most of it is a careful reconstruction: Arras was devastated by German artillery during the First World War, when the front line ran just east of the town for years, and the belfry was destroyed in 1914. After the war, the people of Arras rebuilt it, along with the squares, and today it is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO.
Beneath the town lies a maze of chalk quarries and cellars, the boves, used for centuries for storage and as shelters. During the war, New Zealand tunnellers extended them to hide thousands of soldiers before the Battle of Arras in April 1917, and the Wellington Quarry, now a museum, tells this story. The town was also the birthplace of Maximilien Robespierre, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution. Around Arras, the battlefields of Artois are scattered with cemeteries and memorials, including the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge and the French national cemetery at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
Riding around Arras is easy and often moving. The countryside is rolling farmland, with long views and straight roads, interrupted by small villages and countless war cemeteries. The roads are generally good, with little traffic outside the towns, though the main routes towards Lens and Lille can be busy. Wind is a constant companion on the open plains, and weather can change quickly, with rain and fog common.
Arras has around forty-seven thousand people and plenty of fuel, food and accommodation. Park near the squares and walk around the centre, where cafés and restaurants line the arcades. Local specialities include andouillette, a sausage made from tripe, and coeurs d'Arras, gingerbread biscuits shaped like hearts. Climb the belfry for a view across the town and the surrounding countryside, and visit the boves for a glimpse of the underground world beneath your feet.