The Citadel of Arras (Citadelle d’Arras) is a Unesco World Heritage site. An interesting combination of modern usage and a history preserved.

The Citadel of Arras (Citadelle d’Arras)

On a grey Sunday afternoon we decided to take a walk to the nearby Unesco World Heritage Site, the Citadel of Arras. It was well worth the short walk! Less than 10 minutes from our home, we reach the Citadel by passing through the Place Victor Hugo, and then the beautiful Jardin du Gouverneur. The Governor’s Garden is a beautifully manicured park with a variety of huge trees, walking paths, open spaces for picnics and family games of soccer, and of course many benches from which to observe and enjoy. I hear that there’s a concert every Sunday in the bandstand out front, too!

Crossing the main highway to the Citadel, we’re greeted with a towering entrance surrounded by a moat. Ducks and their ducklings paddle in the cool water, pausing occasionally to look up and squawk at the small herd of goats grooming the steep banks of surrounding grass. 

Ocel gets ready to pass through the Porte Royale (Royal Door) to the Citadel of Arras.

Inside the walls of the “Beautiful Useless” Citadel

It is pretty awesome to be standing within a fortification that was designed and built by Vauban, the military engineer of King Louis XIV. The Citadel of Arras is one of Vauban’s 12 fortifications during the late 1600’s along the borders of France. (Source) The Citadel was nicknamed “the beautiful useless” because although it was an architecturally impressive site (see the star-like design below), its position wasn’t entirely strategic. It was originally built as part of the plan to protect the city from attacks by Spanish troops coming in from the Netherlands. (Source)

I find it hard to comprehend just how much history this part of the world has lived. It’s tough to wrap my mind around the two World Wars, and how that impacted this city. But to think about city planning and protection centuries ago that we still walk through today is mind-boggling. 

Goats for Glory

The main “Porte Royale” entrance to the Citadel is a surprisingly thick “wall” that’s more like a passageway about 50 yards long with a few hidden doors and alcoves. (It was close to dusk the first time I visited last month, and without any lights at all it had a rather sketchy feeling.) One of the side doors to “The Family Room” was open, revealing a simple exhibit with some information panels and two scale models.

Like many preserved sites, with their steep embankments and cratered, uneven grounds, the Citadel uses a traditional lawncare method: goats! The goats are free to roam anywhere within the massive fenced areas, munching away at the long green grass. It’s quite brilliant! We were like little kids at a zoo, excited to see many baby goats trailing their mamas around.

Within the Walls

Within the main fortification of the Citadel, there are many buildings that have obviously had a modern facelift. These are now used by the city for office space, educational facilities, housing, and even a cooking school (I think!). There is a running track, lots of parking, and a massive central cobblestone square. It’s strange to be reading a historic plaque within the walls of a UNESCO site and have a Toyota hybrid roll past with  the distnctive thud-thud-thud of wheels churning over uneven stones.

The real gem of the site is outside of the central area and between the sets of external walls. Here they’ve maintained the massive acreage with all its forest and wildlife. There are well-groomed trails through the woods and the ditches, both within the walls and beyond. It was an amazing peaceful oasis; a forest within the city. Lots of families were out enjoying the trails with strollers, bikes, and toddlers on leashes. Only outside of the walls do you see the grandeur of them, built brick-by-brick before there was any type of heavy machinery to help. 

Walking the Trails of the Citadel

After spending time along the Firing Squad Wall, we took a walk along the beautiful trail system. It winds around the star shape of the embankments, branching off into a few options. The walking trails are well groomed and wide enough to easily push stroller or ride a bike. There is also a more rustic trail system for mountain biking, including some ramp-like sections worn into the steep hillsides. We were passed by a few enthusiastic kids on whirring bikes, and it makes me happy to know the city hasn’t issued any type of big “No Bikes / No Kids / No Dogs / No Fun” statement for their protected land.

We were also passed by quite a few people dressed in their Sunday best, out for an afternoon walk, maybe after a nearby ceremony. Little old ladies in their dressy scarves and shoes walked arm in arm with their dapper gentlemen, looking cute and quaint and ever so French. 

Parc Cit Loisirs | Adventure Ropes Course in the Trees

I started to notice little wooden structures built high into the trees, almost like look-out posts. Just two at first, and I wondered if they were remnants from battles gone by, or maybe they were vantage points for maintenance crews. But then there were a few more, and we saw that they were connected by ropes and all had green padding around them. Maybe a training course? The closer we got to the main entrance, the more of these structures were up in the trees, connected by varying obstacles such as swinging planks, netting, and ziplines.

And then we heard a metal whoosh, shortly followed by a kid zooming above our heads. It’s a full-on adventure ropes course in the trees! The two we saw first were the furthest away from the starting point, where not many people end up. But as we got closer, we could see more movement in the trees, people clipping onto various safety lines and tackling challenging sky traverses. Swinging off balance from a harness while trying to cross wobbly beams and precarious webs? We plan to try it next weekend!

I should mention that the entrance to the Citadel and surrounding trails and park areas is completely free. It’s an excellent way to spend an afternoon, whether it’s for the history or for the nature. We will be back many times, I am sure. Next time, we’re climbing trees!