Today's maximum temperature 11C, minimum 3C. 1mm or rain measured. 20 km/h cold South West winds.
We walked around the town of Arras in the morning, having stayed there overnight. Probably in our state of health the promenade was not a good idea, but we were trying to stick to our plan of exploring a new place! It was cold, damp and windy!
Place des Heros. Fifty two buildings in the square are listed as historical monuments!
At one end is the town hall, a grand building where the tourist board occupy the bottom floor - note the person here walking against the wind trying to keep their hat on!
At the back of the town hall is the 75 metre high bell tower of Arras which overlooks the Place des Héros. Its construction started in 1463 and ended only in 1554 under the supervision of Jacques Le Caron. Later, the bell tower was enlarged twice, in 1572 and in 1658. Almost destroyed entirely during World War One, the bell tower was rebuilt more soberly under the plans of Pierre Paquet between 1924 and 1932.
In Northern France and Belgium, the tradition of giants goes
back as far as the 16th century.
The 19th century saw the figure of the giant brought back to
prominence. The giants of Arras are market gardeners from Achicourt, a local village . These characters, Colas and Jacqueline (above) have existed in song
since 1812. It's hard to judge heights from these photos, but I would guess they are about 4 metres (13 feet) high!
Two more giants.The small black squares are vision panels, so the person carrying them in a parade can see where they are going!
War Memorial
'Europe' by Pierre Mazeline (1632-1708). This is a copy; the original is at the Chateau de Versailles, outside Paris.
Just looking up!
La Grignoterie - snack and sandwich shop.
Lastly, the Christmas market which was of course closed early in the morning when we walked around!
