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 | Cambrai Downtown car rental - Travel Guide |  |
CAMBRAI, like Douai 26km to the north, has kept enough of its character to repay a passing visit, despite the tank battle of November 1917 and the fact that the heavily defended Hindenburg Line ran through the town centre for most of World War I.
The huge, cobbled main square, place Aristide-Briand, is dominated by the Neoclassical Hôtel de Ville, and still suggests the town's former wealth, which was based on the textile and agricultural industries. Unlike most places, Cambrai's chief treasure is not its cathedral but the church of St-Géry, off rue St-Aubert west of the main square, which contains a celebrated Mise au Tombeau by Rubens. The Musée Municipal (Wed-Sun 10am-noon & 2-6pm; 20F/?3.05) on rue de l'Épée, south of the town square, is also worth a visit: paintings of Velázquez feature prominently alongside works by various Flemish masters, Utrillo and Matisse, a native of Le Cateau .
Cambrai's tourist office is housed in the Maison Espagnole on the corner of avenue de la Victoire, at 48 rue de Noyon (Mon-Fri 9am-noon & 2-6pm, Sat 10am-noon & 2-6pm, Sun 2-6pm; tel 03.27.78.36.15, fax 03.27.74.82.82, www.villedecambrai.com ). Central accommodation includes Le Mouton Blanc, 33 rue d'Alsace-Lorraine (tel 03.27.81.30.16, fax 03.27.81.83.54; 220-300F/?34-46), which is a convenient and moderately priced hotel close to the station, with a posh restaurant inside (from 98F/?14.94; closed Sun evening & Mon, plus the evenings of public hols & Aug 1-15). The cheaper hotels are way out on the other side of town on the highway, while the nearest campsite is 10km away and is signposted off the D939 to Arras. |
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