Arras is a town in North France famous for its part in the 1st world war particularly (amongst many other things). The town was virtually completely destroyed in the Great War and all the buildings in these photo's were rebuilt after the war. The local architecture is very much Flemish. We visited the Carriere Wellington Museum which shows the Chalk mines and tunnels that were used (and extended) in the war to assist in the battle to retake the front line held by the Germans. 24000 (mostly British) soldiers hid in the tunnels for 8 days before 'popping up' behind enemy lines and surprising the Germans. The Battle of Arras was expected to be over in 8 days however it took 39 days and cost the lives of 240,000 troops.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7384227.stm
The town hall
Place des Héros on market day
Into the museum
This is a photo of the town hall and Place des Héros just after the battle!
On the way back to the van I was chased by a giant prawn! (this is NOT a foon)
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