Editing Arras (section)

== Sights and attractions ==
[[File:La Place des Heros.jpg|thumb|La Place des Héros, Arras at night]][[File:Arras Petite place.jpg|thumb|View from the Belfry over the market ''Place des Héros'']]
[[File:Arras Cathédrale R01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Arras Cathedral]]]]
[[File:PSBoves01.jpg|thumb|The Boves]]
[[File:Arras Citadelle06.jpg|thumb|The Vauban Citadel]]

===Squares===
The city centre is marked by two large squares, ''La Grand' Place'' and ''La Place des Héros'', also called ''La Petite Place''. The two squares are surrounded by a unique architectural ensemble of 155 Flemish-Baroque-style townhouses. These were built in the 17th and 18th&nbsp;century and were initially made of wood. In 1918, after the end of World War I, most of the townhouses were so severely damaged that they had to be restored to their pre-war conditions. They are now made of bricks.<ref name="arras-online2">{{cite web|url=http://www.arras-online.com/La-Grand-Place-46-page.html|title=La Grand Place - Arras-Online|publisher=arras-online.com|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=23 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423164240/http://www.arras-online.com/La-Grand-Place-46-page.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Town hall and belfry===
The [[Hôtel de Ville, Arras|Hôtel de Ville in Arras]] and its [[belfry (architecture)|belfry]] were constructed in the early 16th century and had to be rebuilt in a slightly less grandiose style after World War I. The belfry is {{convert|75|m|ft|abbr=off}} high and used to serve as a watchtower. Nowadays tourists can enjoy ascending the belfry.<ref name="arras-online3">{{cite web|url=http://www.arras-online.com/Le-Beffroi-et-Place-des-Heros-42-page.html|title=Le Beffroi et Place des Héros - Arras-Online|publisher=arras-online.com|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=23 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423164234/http://www.arras-online.com/Le-Beffroi-et-Place-des-Heros-42-page.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2005, the belfry was added to the UNESCO [[World Heritage List]] as part of the [[Belfries of Belgium and France]] site because of its architecture and historical importance in maintaining municipal power in Europe.<ref name = "unesco">{{cite web |url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943 |title= Belfries of Belgium and France  |website = UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |access-date = 5 November 2021}}</ref>

===Cathedral of Arras===
The original [[Arras Cathedral|cathedral]] was constructed between 1030 and 1396. This Gothic structure was destroyed during the [[French Revolution]] and rebuilt in the 19th&nbsp;century. The present Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame et Saint-Vaast is a [[minor basilica]].

===The Boves===
The Boves, a well-preserved underground network of tunnels, {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=off}} beneath the city, was built in the 10th&nbsp;century and can now be visited by tourists. The idea was to set up a vast underground network to make all inhabitants' cellars interconnect by means of tunnels. Excavation material (chalk) was not wasted but rather used to construct houses. During World War I and World War II, the Boves was utilized as an underground bunker to hide and protect residents and valued objects from falling bombs.

===Art District===
The Art District is renowned for its Italian-style theatre hall built in 1785 and the ''Hôtel de Guînes'', a private 18th-century townhouse that attracts artists, designers and producers of intimist shows.

===Abbey District===
Many of Arras's most remarkable structures, including the [[Musée des beaux-arts d'Arras]] and several government buildings, occupy the site of the old [[Abbey of St. Vaast]]. The abbey's church was demolished and rebuilt in fashionable classical style in 1833, and now serves as the town's cathedral. The design was chosen by the one-time Abbot of St Vaast, the [[Cardinal de Rohan]], and is stark in its simplicity, employing a vast number of perpendicular angles. There is a fine collection of statuary within the church and it houses a number of religious relics.

=== Vauban Citadel ===
Built by [[Vauban]] between 1667 and 1672, the [[Citadel]] has been nicknamed ''La belle inutile'' (the beautiful useless one) by residents as it has never been directly involved in heavy fighting and didn't prevent the Germans from occupying the city in either World War. Since 7&nbsp;July 2008 it has been part of the UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s ''[[Fortifications of Vauban]]'' which includes eleven other fortifications.<ref name="arras">{{cite web|url=http://www.arras.fr/tourisme/office-de-tourisme/citadelle-vauban.html |title=Citadelle Vauban - Arras |publisher=arras.fr |access-date=30 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101180427/http://www.arras.fr/tourisme/office-de-tourisme/citadelle-vauban.html |archive-date=1 January 2015 }}</ref>
Within the citadel on the side of ''La Place de Manœuvre'' a small Baroque-style chapel was built. Outside, ''Le Mur des Fusillés'' (the wall of the people executed by a firing squad) pays tribute to the 218 members of the [[French Resistance]] shot in the citadel's ditch during World War II.

===Seasonal events===
Arras holds the biggest [[Christmas market]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arraspaysdartois.com/en/major-events/arras-christmas-market-once-upon-a-time-there-was-christmas/|title=Arras Christmas Market|website=Arras Pays d'Artois Tourisme|date=17 October 2019 |language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-30}}</ref> north of Paris every year from the end of November to the end of December. Around 80 exhibitors offer a wide selection of arts and crafts, as well as local delicacies like chocolate rats, Atrébate beer and Cœurs d'Arras – heart-shaped biscuits which come in two flavours, ginger, and cheese. Entertainment includes cooking lessons with chefs, craft demonstrations, a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel, an ice-skating rink, and heated shelters. It also offers native products from International locations such as Canada, Vietnam, Morocco, Indonesia, Africa, and gourmet regional specialities from different parts of France: Auvergne, Savoie, South-Western France, and Nord-Pas-de-Calais.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080927084237/http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk/en/guide/miniguidepage/148156-arras-christmas-market-pas-de-calais-27-nov-to-24-dec-2008 Arras Christmas Market (Pas-de-Calais) - Visiting, Travel, Hotels<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The [[Main Square Festival]] is held for several days in early July within the Vauban Citadel, attracting tens of thousands of attendees and playing host to major acts such as [[The Chemical Brothers]], [[Coldplay]], [[Imagine Dragons]], [[David Guetta]], and [[The Black Eyed Peas]].

The [[Arras Film Festival]]<!-- previously known as [[Festival international du film d'Arras]], see https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arras_Film_Festival --> is a film festival held for ten&nbsp;days in November.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=319633 |title=''Glory'' tastes victory at Arras |author=Fabien Lemercier |date=14 November 2016 |access-date=15 November 2016 |website=Cineuropa}}</ref>

''Le [[Jardin botanique Floralpina]]'' is a private [[botanical garden]], specializing in [[alpine plant]]s. It opens every year on the last Sunday of May and can be visited by appointment.

===UNESCO recognition===
Two buildings in Arras are listed as UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s:
* The [[Bell tower|Belfry]] of the Town Hall, as part of the ''[[Belfries of Belgium and France]]'' group, since 2005
* The [[Vauban]] [[citadel]], as part of the ''[[Fortifications of Vauban]]'' group, since 2008

===Outside Arras===
The [[Vimy Memorial]] is a memorial just north of the town honouring a major World War I battle, the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]], which marked the first time Canada fielded an entire army of her own. Four Canadian divisions fought there on Easter weekend 1917. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the broader Allied offensive in April known as the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Battle of Arras]]. The [[Canadian National Vimy Memorial]] is nearby. Vimy was the only victory the Allies would enjoy during their 1917 spring offensive. The Basilica of [[Notre Dame de Lorette]] cemetery, overlooking the nearby village of [[Ablain-Saint-Nazaire]], likewise stands before one of France's largest World War I [[necropolis]]es. Part of an extensive network of tunnels dug in World War I by [[British Empire]] soldiers can be visited at the [[Carrière Wellington]] museum in the suburbs.