Arras and around

The city of Arras is a beautifully restored gem with amazing Flemish-gabled and arcaded central squares, which makes a great base for a visit to this region.

As well as a wide range of cemeteries, memorials and battlefields, itineraries for visits to the Arras area can include:

• Conserved trenches and tunnels in the Vimy Ridge memorial park

• The stunning Canadian memorial to the missing

• The vast French cemetery at Notre Dame de Lorette

• The graceful memorial to the British Empire missing by Sir Edwin Lutyens at the Faubourg D’Amiens cemetery

• The 1915 battlefields of Aubers, Festubert, Loos and Neuve Chapelle

• A Portuguese cemetery and nearby memorial, with their strikingly different architectural style

• The restaurants and bars in and around Arras's two fine squares

• The Flemish Hotel de Ville in Arras

• The site where the Nazis executed resistance members during the occupation of the Second World War

Example itinerary

Day 1

• Morning: Notre Dame de Lorette French National Cemetery

• Afternoon: Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, Neuville St. Vaast German cemetery, Ecoivres British Cemetery; to Arras for hotel check-in

• Dinner at restaurant in Arras

Day 2

• Morning: Vimy Ridge memorial park to walk across battlefields and remains of trenches, go on a tunnel tour (spring/summer only) and visit the Canadian memorial to the missing

• Afternoon: Tilloy-les-Mofflaines for walk to Bunyan’s and Tilloy-les-Mofflaines cemeteries; Monchy-le-Preux for Newfoundland and 37 Division memorials; Vis-en-Artois British cemetery and memorial

• Dinner at restaurant in Arras

Day 3

• Morning: explore and/or shop in Arras; walk to Faubourg D’Amiens British cemetery and memorial and Murs-des-Fusilles memorial to French resistance members executed by the Nazis; Neuve Chapelle Indian Memorial and Portuguese Cemetery

• Afternoon: Le Touret British Memorial and Portuguese memorial in La Couture; Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery and Bois-Grenier for Christmas Truce sites

This is just an example. I will put together a bespoke itinerary for your group based on any particular interests. See my specialist battlefield themes below.