Editing Cambrai (section)

==Culture and heritage==

===Cultural events and festivities===
On 15 August is the communal festival of Cambrai, and one of the highlights of the popular local life. This great festival (or {{ill|Ducasse (festival)|fr|Ducasse|lt=Ducasse}}) extends for ten days in the ''Place de l'Hôtel de ville'' [City Hall Square]. The day of 15 August is punctuated by the traditional parade of the giants {{Interlanguage link multi|Martin and Martine|fr|3=Martin et Martine}}, symbols of the city, and a fireworks display. This festival, originally a procession which took place the day after [[Trinity Sunday]], dates back to 1220. It was embellished over time with fireworks, banquets and cavalcades, and was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the [[Cambrésis]]. Over the centuries the festival has changed, reflecting the concerns of the contemporary: Since attachment to France it has been celebrated on 15 August, festival of the [[Assumption of Mary|Assumption]], in response to the wish of [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] to devote the Kingdom to the Virgin; in 1790 it celebrated the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen|Declaration of the Rights of Man]] and the [[Fête de la Fédération]]; in 1802, with the signature of the [[concordat]], the image of Our Lady of Grace was again carried in procession, reinforced by the bust of [[François Fénelon|Fénelon]]. Under the [[First French Empire|First Empire]] it celebrated his Imperial Majesty [[Napoleon|Napoleon I]]. In the 19th century, finally, interests turned more to local life, and the progress of science and industry.<ref group=a>p.196</ref>

Musically, the town of Cambrai receives two festivals. Firstly, the ''Juventus'' classical music festival. The Juventus association mark young talented European soloists. They are appointed, if they accept it, "Juventus Winners" during their first participation in a Juventus festival. Every summer the old and the new winners gather for a fortnight at the festival to prepare chamber music concerts in exceptional conditions. ''Juventus'', established in 1991 at the [[Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans]], was set at Cambrai from 1998 with the help of the General Council of the department.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.music-juventus.fr/|title = page d'accueil|work = festival Juventus|access-date = 20 May 2015|archive-date = 3 July 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150703134458/http://www.music-juventus.fr/|url-status = dead}}</ref> Meanwhile, {{Interlanguage link multi|BetiZFest|fr|3=BetiZFest|lt=''BetiZFest''}} is an alternative music festival, which has been organised since 2003. It is organised during the month of April. ''Les Féodales'' is a street show which represents the [[Middle Ages]]. The last edition took place in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lobservateurducambresis.fr/actualite/Cambrai-:-pas-de-Feodales-l-an-prochain--3418-flash.html|title=Cambrai : pas de Féodales l'an prochain|year=2009|publisher=L'Observateur du Cambrésis|access-date=20 May 2015|archive-date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721005840/http://www.lobservateurducambresis.fr/actualite/Cambrai-:-pas-de-Feodales-l-an-prochain--3418-flash.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Cambrai city hall is the national headquarters of the Union for the horse breed of the "[[Trait du Nord]]". The Trait du Nord national competition is traditionally held during the last weekend of July at the ''Palais des Grottes''. Bringing together the elite of the breed, it ends on Sunday afternoon on the ''Place de l'hôtel de Ville'' with a grand parade, the most important festive presentation in France of a breed of draft horses.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.trait-du-nord.fr/|title = Trait-du-Nord|work = groupe associatif " Cheval de Trait "|access-date = 20 May 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150905144618/http://www.trait-du-nord.fr/|archive-date = 5 September 2015|url-status = dead|df = dmy-all}}</ref>

===Media===
The ''[[La Voix du Nord (daily)|La Voix du Nord]]'' regional daily publishes a local edition. The ''L'Observateur du Cambrésis'' is a weekly local news and announcements. The municipal newspaper ''Le Cambrésien'' is distributed in all the mailboxes of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villedecambrai.com/toute-lactualite/cambresien.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115065205/http://www.villedecambrai.com/toute-lactualite/cambresien.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-01-15|title=Journal municipal: Le Cambrésien|work=la ville de Cambrai}}</ref>

Cambrai is part of the territory served by radio BLC, a community radio station whose programmes are broadcast from [[Caudry]]. The inhabitants of Cambrai also have, in addition to some national radio stations, the programmes of [[France Bleu Nord]], [[Chérie FM]] Cambrai and [[RFM (French radio station)|RFM Nord]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csa.fr/infos/operateurs/operateurs_radio_frequences_tableau.php|title=Liste des fréquences radio|publisher=CSA}}{{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The city is covered by the programmes of [[France 3 Nord-Pas-de-Calais|France 3 Nord]] and the national [[Television in France|DTT]] channels. It also received the regional channel of {{Interlanguage link multi|Wéo|fr}}. Oxygen TV is a [[Web television|web TV]] channel "100% of Cambrai" devoted to local information.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://oxygentv.fr/index.php|title = page d'accueil|work = Oxygen TV|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100201180614/http://www.oxygentv.fr/index.php|archive-date = 2010-02-01}}</ref>

===Religion===
The people of Cambrai have places of [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Protestantism|Protestant]] and [[Islam|Muslim]] worship.

Cambrai is the seat of a Catholic [[archbishop]]ric, [[Suffragan bishop|suffragan]] of Lille since 29 March 2008. Until then, it was the opposite situation with the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai|Archdiocese of Cambrai]] as the metropolitan archdiocese and Lille and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras|Arras]] as its suffragans. The Archdiocese of Cambrai includes the arrondissements of Cambrai, Valenciennes and Avesnes-sur-Helpe. The [[deanery]] of Cambrai brings together 13 churches<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cathocambrai.com/page-37273.html|title= Nouveau doyen à Cambrai|work=Paroisse Notre-Dame de Grâce de Cambrai}}</ref> grouped into two [[parish]]es:<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.cathocambrai.com/rubrique-2443-cambrai.html|title= Cambrai : Doyenné accueillant l'Archevéché et la Cathédrale|work=Archidiocèse de Cambrai}}</ref> Our Lady of Grace<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://cathedrale.cathocambrai.com/|title=page d'accueil|work=Paroisse Notre-Dame de Grâce de Cambrai|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117074814/http://cathedrale.cathocambrai.com/|archive-date=2012-01-17}}</ref> and Saint Vaast-Saint Géry.<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.stvaast-stgery.com/|title= page d'accueil|work=Paroisse Saint-Vaast Saint-Géry de Cambrai}}</ref>

The [[Baptists|Baptist]] community has an Evangelical Baptist Church,<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://egbapcam.free.fr/|title= page d'accueil|work=église évangélique baptiste de Cambrai}}</ref> just as there is a parish of the [[Reformed Church of France]].<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://erfcambresis.free.fr/home.html|title= page d'accueil|work=église réformée du Cambrésis}}</ref>

The Moroccan cultural and religious association of Cambrai manages the Al Mohssinine [[Mosque]] of Escaudain.<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.mosquee-escaudain.fr/details/mosquee/mosquee-de-cambrai-ennour.html|title=page d'accueil|work=Association culturelle et cultuelle d'Escaudin|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325112009/http://www.mosquee-escaudain.fr/details/mosquee/mosquee-de-cambrai-ennour.html|archive-date=2008-03-25}}</ref>

===Sports===
[[File:Centre nautique Cambrai.JPG|thumb|left|The Liberté Swimming Centre]]

Cambrai has over a hundred clubs or sporting associations, including the {{Interlanguage link multi|Cambrai Hockey Club|fr}}<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.cambraihockeyclub.com/|title = page d'accueil|work = le site du Cambrai Hockey Club|access-date = 2010-06-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100612004350/http://www.cambraihockeyclub.com/|archive-date = 2010-06-12|url-status = dead}}</ref>  playing in the Women's [[field hockey]] Championship of France, as well as the team of {{Interlanguage link multi|Cambrai Volley-Ball|fr|3=Cambrai Volley-Ball|lt=Cambrai Volley Élan du Cambrésis}}<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.cambraivolley.com|title = page d'accueil|work =le site de Cambrai Volley}}</ref> which plays in the League (2nd division) and is the only professional club of le Cambrésis.

Facilities include six gymnasiums, two swimming pools, of which the Liberty Swimming Centre was rebuilt and reopened in 2008, the Arsenal de Balagny, which was built between 1581 and 1595, abandoned by the army in 1967 and then rehabilitated as a gym, a leisure centre, a hockey stadium, a rugby stadium and many football pitches, including the Liberty Stadium, home of [[AC Cambrai]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://acc-football.footeo.com/|title = page d'accueil|work =Athletic Club de Cambrai}}</ref>

Cambrai has a rowing club that goes under the name of ''Union Nautique de Cambrai''. The club is regularly present to the Rowing French Championships. In the early 2000s, one of its feminine team members made it to the World Championships. Since then, the club has been in the phase of beginning a new cycle based on renewed team members, especially youngsters.
Every year, the club is home to the Regattas of Cambrai, during which clubs from Northern France gather for sprint-races on a 1000m distance.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/aviron-dix-clubs-presents-pour-les-regates-de-cambrai-ia13b0n2801181 | title=Aviron : Dix clubs présents pour les Régates de Cambrai | date=29 April 2015 }}</ref>

The game of {{Interlanguage link multi|Billon (game)|fr|3=Billon (jeu)|lt=billon}} is practiced traditionally in regions of Cambrai and Douai.

Cambrai was the departure point for Stage 4 of the [[2004 Tour de France]]<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.letour.fr/2004/presentationfr/parcours.html|title = Parcours|work = Tour de France 2004|access-date = 21 May 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100717170536/http://www.letour.fr/2004/presentationfr/parcours.html|archive-date = 17 July 2010|url-status = dead}}</ref> and once again the departure point of Stage 4 in the [[2010 Tour de France]].<ref>
{{cite web|url = http://www.letour.fr/2010./TDF/LIVE/fr/400/videos.html?target=150975|title = La course 2010. – étape 4 – Cambrai Reims|work = Tour de France}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Cambrai hosted the finish of Stage 4 in the [[2015 Tour de France]], on 7 July, with a route from [[Seraing]].

In 2010, the newspaper ''[[L'Équipe]]'' ranked Cambrai among the top five cities as the most sporty in France with more than 20,000 inhabitants, along with [[Lorient]], [[Colmar]], [[Antibes]] and [[Tarbes]]. The special prize of "Sport and Disability" was awarded to the city for its access to sport for people with disabilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villedecambrai.com/toute-lactualite/cambresien.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115065205/http://www.villedecambrai.com/toute-lactualite/cambresien.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-01-15|title=Journal municipal: Le Cambrésien n° 146|work=Ville de Cambrai}}</ref>

=== French sartorial heritage ===
The city was a pivotal center of [[mulquinerie]].

===Sites and monuments===
{{unreferencedsect|date=December 2023}}
[[File:Cambrai Porte Notre-Dame.JPG|thumb|right|The Notre-Dame Gate (1634)]]

A large part of the monumental heritage of Cambrai has disappeared over the centuries. It was firstly [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], in order to build a citadel at the Mont-des-Bœufs, who ordered the destruction of the Abbey Saint-Gery of Gothic style in 1543.

During the [[French Revolution]] all of the religious buildings of the town were sold as national property and destroyed, including the [[Old Cambrai Cathedral|old cathedral]]. Only four churches, a converted attic, a hospital, a temple of reason and a prison, were spared.

The dismantling of the fortifications, from 1894, led to the disappearance of many [[City gate|gates]]. Some have been preserved thanks to the interventions of the Society of Emulation of the city.

[[World War I]] was again responsible for significant destruction, the German army having undermined and torched the city centre before retreating in September 1918.  A total of 1,214 buildings were destroyed, including the city hall, which was rebuilt in the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] style before the Revolution by the architects [[Jacques Denis Antoine]] and [[Nicolas-Henri Jardin]].<ref group=a>p.208</ref>

Finally at the end of [[World War II]], in April 1944, and then again in May, July and until 11 August, Cambrai suffered Allied bombardments. A total of 55% of the buildings were heavily damaged and 13% were completely destroyed.

Despite this considerable destruction, the city kept an important monumental heritage. Cambrai has been classified as a [[French Towns and Lands of Art and History|City of Art and History]] since 1992, the first town of the Nord department to obtain this prestigious label.

====Religious heritage====
[[File:Cathédrale Notre-Dame Cambrai .JPG|thumb|right|The Cathedral of Our Lady]]

The [[Cambrai Cathedral|Our Lady of Grace Cathedral]] was completed in 1703, in the classical style of the time, as the abbey church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church survived the turbulence of the [[French Revolution]] as a Temple of Reason from 1794. The admirable [[Old Cambrai Cathedral|Gothic Cathedral]] from the 12th century was destroyed in the aftermath the Revolution of 1789. There is no trace on the present ''Place Fénelon'' of the former building. Bishop Louis Belmas adopted the former abbey church as the new cathedral in 1801.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lecompte |first1=Denis |title=Notre-Dame-de-Grace |date=2005 |publisher=Éditions du Signe |location=Strasbourg |isbn=2-7468-0759-9 |pages=5–10}}</ref>

The apse contains the monumental tomb of Fénelon, a masterpiece of the sculptor [[David d'Angers]], and the semitransepts with ''l'Icône Notre Dame de Grâce'' [the Icon of Our Lady of Grace] and the nine reputed [[grisaille]]s by [[Marten Jozef Geeraerts|Geeraerts]] of Antwerp. The grand [[Organ (music)#Chamber organ|organs]] were built by the house of {{Interlanguage link multi|Pierre Schyven|fr}} of Ixelles in 1897. After the events of [[World War I]], extensive restoration was undertaken by the organ builder Auguste Convers, who brought the current instrument to 49 stops with 3,670 pipes. The building was classified in the inventory of [[Monument historique|Historic Monuments]] on 9 August 1906.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107395}}</ref>

The {{Interlanguage link multi|Grand Seminary Chapel|fr|3=Chapelle des Jésuites de Cambrai}} most commonly called the College of the Jesuits' Chapel, completed in 1692, is a unique example of [[Baroque]] art in France, to the north of Paris. The chapel served as a prison to the nearby Revolutionary Court in 1794, and it was classified in the inventory of Historic Monuments on 30 April 1920.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107400}}</ref>

The {{Interlanguage link multi|Église Saint-Géry de Cambrai|fr|3=Église Saint-Géry de Cambrai|lt=Church of Saint-Géry}}, a listed historical monument since 26 November 1919,<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107402}}</ref> is one of the oldest monuments of Cambrai. It contains a remarkable [[Rood screen|choir screen]] in polychromatic marble carved by the Cambrai native [[Gaspard and Balthazard Marsy|Gaspard Marsy]] as well as ''La mise au tombeauu'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]] dating from 1616. The grand organs built in 1867 by [[Joseph Merklin|Merklin]] were the subject of a significant transformation in 1978. The current instrument has 41 stops. This church has been the subject of a restoration of the frontage and roofing over a period of four years (2011–2015).

Other buildings of Cambrai are also classified or listed as Historic Monuments. The former {{Interlanguage link multi|Convent of the Recollects of Cambrai|fr|3=Couvent des Récollets de Cambrai|lt=Convent of the Recollects}} has been registered since 2 March 1943,<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107401}}</ref> and the {{Interlanguage link multi|Béguinages Saint-Vaast and Saint-Nicolas|fr|3=Béguinages Saint-Vaast et Saint-Nicolas}} have been classified as Historic Monuments since 1949.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107394}}</ref>

====Military heritage====
The Citadel: Despite its dismantling in the 19th century, the Citadel of Charles V retained the counter-mine galleries which are today buried; the Royal gate and drawbridge, classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 14 April 1932,<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107399}}</ref> flanked on the back of two guardhouses and an arsenal of the 16th century. Among subsequent developments, a powder magazine, housing for officers and a "bombproof" barracks of the 19th century are also noteworthy.

The {{Interlanguage link multi|Château de Selles|fr}} is an old fortified château, which was built in the 11th century. Once isolated by the waters of the Scheldt, it has retained its towers and walls and especially buried ducts. The ducts include much graffiti which attests to the desperation of the prisoners, confined on the orders of the Count-Bishop.

The {{Interlanguage link multi|Porte de Paris (Cambrai)|fr|3=Porte de Paris (Cambrai)|lt=Portes de Paris}} (late 14th century),<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107413}}</ref> {{Interlanguage link multi|Porte Notre-Dame (Cambrai)|fr|3=Porte Notre-Dame (Cambrai)|lt=Notre Dame}} (17th century)<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107412}}</ref> and the {{Interlanguage link multi|Tour Saint-Fiacre|fr|3=Tour Saint-Fiacre|lt=Tours des Sottes}} (or Saint-Fiacre),<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA59000006}}</ref> the Caudron (1st half of the 15th century)<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA59000005}}</ref> and {{Interlanguage link multi|Tour des Arquets|fr|3=Tour des Arquets|lt=Arquets}} (16th century)<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107415}}</ref> are the remains of the medieval walls.

====Civil heritage====
[[File:Carillon-Cambrai.jpg|thumb|left|Martin and Martine strike the hours in the bell tower of Cambrai's town hall]]

The {{Interlanguage link multi|Belfry of Cambrai|fr|3=Beffroi de Cambrai}}, formerly the bell tower of the Church of Saint-Martin. The monument, built in the 15th century, became a belfry of Cambrai in 1550. Classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 15 July 1965,<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107416}}</ref> in 2005 the belfry was inscribed on the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage List]] as part of the [[Belfries of Belgium and France]] site, in recognition of its architecture and importance to the history of 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 = 6 November 2021}}</ref>

The city hall, renovated in 1932, opens onto the ''Grand'Place'' by a majestic Greek-style façade, surmounted by a bell tower where two bronze bell ringers, giant and Moorish type, strike the hours on a big bell above the big clock: {{Interlanguage link multi|Martin and Martine|fr|3=Martin et Martine}}, the protectors of the city. The marriage hall contains a series of frescoes and can be visited on request.

The Hotel de Francqueville (18th century) houses the rich collections of the {{Interlanguage link multi|Museum of Cambrai|fr|3=Musée de Cambrai}}, considerably enlarged and renovated in 1994.{{cn|date=October 2024}} The relief map of the city, as it was at the end of the 17th century, is the starting point for essential guided tours of the city.

The ''Maison Espagnole'' [Spanish House], headquarters of the Tourist Office, dates from 1595 and is the last house which is half-timbered and gabled on regional-style street. Oak sculptures ([[chimera (mythology)|chimera]]s and [[caryatid]]s) which adorned its façade in the 19th century are exposed on the first floor inside after undergoing a serious restoration. One can visit its medieval cellars. This building has been classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 31 August 1920.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00107409}}</ref>

[[File:Marché couvert Cambrai.JPG|thumb|right|The covered market]]

The covered market, built after World War II, is home to lively Les Halles market days.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The subterranean space<ref group="a" name="p.37"/> which extends below the centre of the city, as in other medieval cities, was explored in the middle of the 19th century as well as to the end of the 20th century. Carved into the white chalk, it includes galleries and Romanesque and Gothic vaulted rooms. There are also wells and niches for statues. These excavations have served as quarries for the extraction of construction materials, as well as stone for lime: The {{Interlanguage link multi|Catiche|fr|3=Catiche|lt="catiches"}} [underground quarries] are inverted funnels about {{convert|15|m|ft}} deep and {{convert|10-12|m|ft}} wide at the base.{{cn|date=October 2024}} This underground space was also used, until 1944, for shelters and caches during sieges, invasion or bombing.{{cn|date=October 2024}} Their dating is uncertain: It is not impossible that some of these excavations were carved during the Roman era, but it is likely that they were spaced out over a long period, according to the needs. Tours are organised by the tourist office.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

====Memorial heritage====
The German military cemetery of the ''Route de Solesmes'' and Cambrai East Military Cemetery: The cemetery and the ''Route de Solesmes'' was created by the German army in March 1917. Occupied since 1914, Cambrai was an important centre of command, logistics and health for the occupant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cheminsdememoire-nordpasdecalais.fr/visiter-les-sites/le-front/cimetiere-militaire-allemand-de-la-route-de-solesme-et-cambrai-east-military-cemetery.html|title=Chemins de mémoire de la Grande Guerre en Nord-Pas-de-Calais}}</ref> The cemetery was opened to accommodate the bodies of soldiers who died in hospitals in the city, including at the end of the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Battle of Arras]] (April–May 1917) and the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]] (November–December 1917). The cemetery currently has 10,685 German graves, as well as those of 192 Russian prisoners of war and six Romanians.<ref>[[German War Graves Commission]]</ref> Two spaces, forming the Cambrai East Military Cemetery, contain the graves of 501 soldiers of the British Imperial Army.<ref>[[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]</ref>

===Environmental heritage===
[[File:Kiosque à musique Cambrai.JPG|thumb|The bandstand is one of the oldest in France]]

Cambrai has the label "Floral City" with three flowers awarded by the ''National Council of Floral Cities and Villages of France'' in the [[Concours des villes et villages fleuris|Floral Competition of Cities and Villages]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnvvf.fr/site/index.php?page=1&idpt=59|title=Palmarès 2009 du concours des Villes et Villages Fleuris}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The current public garden dates from the 19th century, which saw the creation of green spaces in the middle to encourage [[Hygiene|hygienics]] and which were liberated in addition to the areas occupied by the fortifications. This garden, divided into three distinct but contiguous parts, is located on the site of the old fortifications that surrounded the citadel built under [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]]:

[[File:Grottes Jardin public Cambrai.JPG|thumb|left|The "caves" of the public garden]]

*The "flower garden", designed by the landscape architect [[Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps]], was established between 1852 and 1865 on {{convert|6|ha|acre}}. This garden was originally the only one planned but, at the insistence of the prefect of the time, it was increased to {{convert|9|ha|acre}} in 1864.<ref group=a>p.198</ref>
*The "Monstrelet Garden" designed "in English", was soon added to the previous. It is so called because it houses a statue of [[Enguerrand de Monstrelet]], chronicler of the [[Middle Ages]] who was the [[Prévôt|Provost]] of Cambrai. In 1876, the bandstand was erected, built on the plans of André de Baralle.
*The "garden of caves", built in the early 19th century, carries a total area of more than {{convert|15|ha|acre}}. The "caves", decorated with a waterfall, were the main attraction and gave their name to this part of the garden. They were completed in 1906 and in 2010 are awaiting rehabilitation.

These gardens, and in particular their statues, were damaged by the two world wars. In 1972, a modern hall, named as the ''Palais des Grottes'' [Mansion of Caves] and hosting exhibitions, trade fairs and concerts, was built in the middle of the garden of the same name.

A few other squares or gardens complement the green spaces of Cambrai: Fenelon Square, established in 1861 to the designs of Barillet-Deschamps on the site of the [[Old Cambrai Cathedral|ancient metropolis]] and decorated in 1864 with a water fountain, that of the ''Place Marcelin Berthelot'', which dates from 1911. This is at the foot of the walls of the Château de Selles, dating from the same year. The one of the Arquets tower dates from 1954.<ref group=c>p.199</ref> The avenues and boulevards planted with trees and flowers to complete make Cambrai a "green" city.

===Cultural heritage===
[[File:Théâtre Cambrai.JPG|thumb|The theatre of Cambrai, between the National Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art and the chapel of the old Saint-Julien Hospital]]

The [[Musée des Beaux-Arts de Cambrai]] opened in 1847 to present revolutionary seizures, has been installed since 1893 in a mansion of the 18th century, the Hotel de Francqueville. Renovated in 1994, it has three departments (archaeology, fine arts and heritage of Cambrai) on {{convert|4300|m2|sqft}} of which the most important is that of art. It presents Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 17th century and French artists of the 19th and 20th century. A recent donation also allowed it to present a collection of geometric [[Abstraction (art)|abstraction]]s of the second half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://villedecambrai.com/index.php?id=1296|title = Musée|work =le site de la ville de Cambrai}}</ref>

The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art still officially retains its label "[[Musée de France]]",<ref group=note>Label renewed by Ministerial Decree of 17 September 2003</ref> although it was closed to the public in 1975. This private museum is managed by the diocese, which is looking for ways to reopen the collections to the public. The items of this collection may be the subject of loans for temporary exhibitions and include objects from the archaeological excavations of the city of Cambrai, architectural elements, sculpture, paintings, pieces of jewellery and liturgical ornaments.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.liturgiecatholique.fr/Musee-diocesain-d-Art-Sacre-du.html|title = Musée diocésain d'Art Sacré de Cambrai|work = portail de la liturgie catholique| date=23 June 2023 }}</ref> This museum's history began in 1926 when Monseignor {{Interlanguage link multi|Jean-Arthur Chollet|fr|3=Jean-Arthur Chollet|lt=Chollet}}, Archbishop of Cambrai, established a commission of religious history and sacred art aimed to inventory and preserve the archives and movable heritage of the diocese. Canon Cyrille Thelliez became secretary. In 1958, many religious objects from the diocese were gathered together and Thelliez founded the Diocesan Museum, the first religious art museum opened in France. The museum was installed in the former chapel of the Grand Seminary.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://villedecambrai.com/index.php?id=1296|title = Un service diocésain de la conservation du patrimoine: l'exemple du diocèse de Cambrai (Nord)|author = Caroline Biencourt|date = 22 July 2009|work =In Situ, revue des patrimoines}}</ref>

The Théâtre de Cambrai was built in 1924 by the architect {{Interlanguage link multi|Pierre Leprince-Ringuet|fr}}, on the site of a chapel of the 16th century which was destroyed during [[World War I]]. The chapel had been abandoned for 25 years when its rehabilitation was undertaken in 1999. The renovated theatre was inaugurated in 2003. It is an Italian theatre of 700 seats which hosts various performances, including those of the ''Scènes mitoyennes'' [Adjoining Stages] association and the {{Interlanguage link multi|Festival Juventus|fr|3=Festival Juventus|lt=Juventus classical music festival}}.

The ''Palais des grottes'' [Mansion of Caves] situated in the public garden, is a large multi-purpose hall with a capacity of 1,500 people and which can accommodate concerts, (including the {{Interlanguage link multi|BetiZFest|fr}}), fairs or exhibitions. Its remarkable roof shape, formed of a [[paraboloid|hyperbolic paraboloid]] (or "saddle"), was built in 1974 by then-advanced techniques and demonstrates a concrete form of architecture in the 20th century.<ref group=a>pp.216–217</ref>

The media library is a classified municipal library:<ref>
{{cite web|url = http://www.mediathequedecambrai.fr|title = page d'accueil|work =le site de la médiathèque de Cambrai}}</ref> It has an important old [[fonds]], with 956 manuscripts, the oldest dating back to the 7th century, from the confiscations made during the revolutionary era to religious communities, very important in the city, and emigrants of the region. This fonds was subsequently enriched by gifts, bequests and purchases.<ref>
{{cite web|url = http://www.numerique.culture.fr/mpf/pub-fr/document.html?id=FR-DC-B591226101_001|title = Enluminures médiévales de la bibliothèque municipale de Cambrai|work = catalogue national Patrimoine numérique|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720213756/http://www.numerique.culture.fr/mpf/pub-fr/document.html?id=FR-DC-B591226101_001|archive-date = 2011-07-20}}</ref> In 1975, it was one of the first institutions to adopt the title of "media library". It is divided into four services: Youth, adults, library and local history and old books.

Cambrai has a national school of music and dramatic arts<ref>
{{cite web|url = http://www.agglo-cambrai.fr/fr/vie-communautaire/conservatoire/presentation.html|title = Présentation du conservatoire|work = Communauté d'agglomération de Cambrai|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100803015510/http://www.agglo-cambrai.fr/fr/vie-communautaire/conservatoire/presentation.html|archive-date = 2010-08-03}}</ref> which obtained the ''Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental'' label in 2007.

===Culinary specialities===
[[File:Bêtises de Cambrai.jpg|thumb|right|Bêtises de Cambrai]]

The two best-known gastronomic specialties of Cambrai are the {{Interlanguage link multi|Andouillette de Cambrai|fr}}, a sausage traditionally made of ground veal (which was prohibited by European regulations, following the episode of [[Bovine spongiform encephalopathy|mad cow disease]], [https://www.weekend-esprithautsdefrance.com/la-gastronomie-des-hauts-de-france/andouillette-andouille until 2015]), which associated gastronomic society is one of the most representative in the region, and the [[Bêtise de Cambrai]], a coated mint confection which is one of the most emblematic gourmet specialties of France.

The gastronomy of Cambrai also accounts for other less known specialities: Tripe, liver pâté with plums, hare with grapes, [[hochepot]] of [[partridge]] with puréed lentils, but also the {{Interlanguage link multi|Boulette de Cambrai|fr}}, [[fromage blanc]] with fine herbs, and also a cheese [[trademark]]ed as {{Interlanguage link multi|Tome de Cambrai|fr|3=Tome de Cambrai|lt="Tome de Cambrai"}}, or even crackers and ''pain crotté'' [muddy bread] (a type of [[French toast]]).

===Heraldry, motto===
{{Blazon-arms
|img1=Blason cambrai.svg
|legend1=Arms of Cambrai
|text=The arms of Cambrai are [[blazon]]ed:<br />''"Or, a double-headed eagle sable, (haloed) beaked and membered gules, overall an inescutcheon Or, 3 lions azure."''<br /><br />The first known arms appear on a seal from 1340. They represented an eagle holding in its talons the arms of le Cambrésis, ''"of Or three Lion Cubs of azure"''. Under the Spanish domination these arms were slightly modified, the double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire became an honourable figure<ref group=note>The honourable ordinaries are large enough to be able to be 'honoured' ([[Charge (heraldry)|charged]]).</ref> and arms of the Cambrésis being removed. The coat of arms thus means "Cambrai city of the empire and capital of the Cambrésis".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://svowebmaster.free.fr/drapeaux_cambrai.htm|title=Drapeau, armoiries et emblèmes de Cambrai|work=Société Vexillologique de l'Ouest}}</ref>
}}

{{Blazon-arms
|img1=Blason Cambrai chambre de commerce.png
|legend1=
|text=The eagle is usually surmounted with the ducal crown, the city having been elevated to a Duchy in 1510. In 1815 Cambrai received from [[Louis XVIII of France|Louis XVIII]] the right again to its ancient arms. In 1919, it was awarded the cross of the [[Legion of Honour]], and in 1945 the [[Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France)|Croix de Guerre]].<br/><br/>On the front of the Chamber of Commerce (shown adjoining), built after the [[World War I]], the arms are surmounted by the Ducal Crown, framed by the giants {{Interlanguage link multi|Martin and Martine|fr|3=Martin et Martine}}, and increased by the cross of the Legion of Honour.
}}

The motto of the city has changed several times:

*1579: ''"Cambray, city of peace."''
*1580: ''"Concordia parvæ res crescunt"'' ("Harmony makes small things grow"). This motto is the same as that of the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]] (''"[[Unity makes strength]]"'')
*Current motto: ''"Proud of its past, sure of its future."''

The logo of the city is a stylisation of the steeples of the [[Cambrai Cathedral|cathedral]], the Saint-Géry Church and {{Interlanguage link multi|Belfry of Cambrai|fr|3=Beffroi de Cambrai|lt=belfry}}, a visual signature of the city, visible from afar. Locally, Cambrai is known as "the city of three spires".

===Military life===
In 1711–1712, during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], the regiments of {{Interlanguage link multi|Roussillon Regiment|fr|3=Régiment de Roussillon|lt=Rousillon}} and [[Régiment Royal-Comtois|Royal-Comtois]] had their barracks at Cambrai.<ref>Several acts have reported the presence of these regiments in the period between November 1711 and August 1712.</ref>

From the late 19th century, two military units were stationed at Cambrai. The [[1st Infantry Regiment (France)|1st Infantry Regiment]] was quartered at Cambrai from 1870 to 1914, when it left for Belgium, before returning in 1919. It was split between the citadel and the Renel barracks. In 1940 it was again sent to Belgium, before being dissolved in 1942 in the free zone and did not return to Cambrai. The {{Interlanguage link multi|4th Cuirassier Regiment|fr|3=4e régiment de cuirassiers (France)}} arrived in Cambrai in 1889 and is the Mortier quarter. This regiment was dissolved at the end of [[World War I]]. After [[World War II]] the Mortier quarter was assigned to the Selection Centre No. 2, today disbanded.

Until 2012, the {{Interlanguage link multi|Airbase 103 Cambrai-Épinoy|fr|3=Base aérienne 103 Cambrai-Épinoy|lt=Airbase 103}} "[[René Mouchotte]]" was near the city, founded in 1953 and which hosted the 01.012 Fighter Squadron "Cambrésis" created in 1952, the 02.012 "Picardy" and the 03.012 "Cornouailles" [Cornwall], as well as a ground-to-air defence squadron.

===Cambrai in literature and cinema===
*[[Ernst Jünger]] in ''[[Storm of Steel]]'', dedicated to [[World War I]], described Cambrai in 1917:

{{pull quote|Cambrai is a small, quiet and sleepy city of Artois (sic), to the name of which is attached many historical memories. Narrow and antiquated alleys run like a maze around the huge city hall, doors eaten away by the centuries and many churches, the largest of which saw Fénelon preach. Heavy steeples stand amongst a jumble of pointed gables. Broad avenues lead to a well-kept public garden, which is adorned with a monument to Louis Blériot.
The inhabitants are peaceful and cordial people, who lead in their big houses, simple in appearance, but richly furnished, with a life of wellbeing. The small city has been rightfully nicknamed "the city of millionaires" because, just before the war, there were forty of these [[Croesus]]-like people.

The [[World War I|Great War]] tore this hole of the province in its sleep of Sleeping Beauty and the gigantic turn of home struggles...|author=[[Ernst Jünger]]|source=''[[Storm of Steel]]''<ref>Ernst Jünger, ''Orages d'acier'', Christian Bourgeois 1970, traduction de [[Henri Plard]].</ref>}}

*The streets of Cambrai served as a backdrop to ''Sang noir'' [Black Blood], a 90-minute fiction filmed from 7 March to 6 April 2006 through Production of [[France 3]] Lille, based on the novel of the same name by [[Louis Guilloux]] which takes place in 1917 in a small town, far from the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].
*In 2007, the construction of the bypass of Cambrai was used for the filming of the movie ''[[In the Beginning (2009 film)|In the Beginning]]'' by [[Xavier Giannoli]]. Some scenes of the film ''Présumé coupable'' [Presumed Guilty], by Vincent Garenq, were shot at Cambrai in April 2010.
*The comic book ''[[Asterix and the Banquet]]'' by [[René Goscinny|Goscinny]] and [[Albert Uderzo|Uderzo]] have a journey to various cities in Roman Gaul, including ''Camaracum'' (Cambrai): [[Asterix (character)|Asterix]] and [[Obelix]] buy [[Bêtise de Cambrai|bêtise]]s.
*The young-adult novel ''Les Bêtises de Cambrai'' (Airvey, 2011) by Eric Callens.

===Cambrai and philately===
Four postage stamps have been issued in connection with the city of Cambrai:

*10 July 1947, a stamp commemorating [[François Fénelon|Fénelon]], Archbishop of Cambrai, with a face value of 4.50 [[French franc|Franc]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phil-ouest.com/Timbre.php?Nom_timbre=Fenelon_1947|title=Oblitération illustrée 1er jour à Cambrai (Nord)|date= 26 January 2008|work= phil-ouest.com de Bernard Le Lann}}</ref>
*19 February 1972, a stamp commemorating [[Louis Blériot]], born in Cambrai, with a face value of 0.50 Francs with surcharge: 0.10 Francs for the benefit of the French Red Cross.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phil-ouest.com/Timbre.php?Nom_timbre=Bleriot_1972|title=Oblitération 1er jour à Cambrai (Nord)|date= 3 March 2010|work= phil-ouest.com de Bernard Le Lann}}</ref>
*14 May 1977, a stamp commemorating the capture of Cambrai in 1677 and the annexation of Cambrésis by France, with a face value of 0.80 Francs<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phil-ouest.com/Timbre.php?Nom_timbre=Cambresis_1977|title=Oblitération 1er jour à Cambrai (Nord)|date= 25 February 2009|work= phil-ouest.com de Bernard Le Lann}}</ref>
*25 July 2009, a stamp commemorating the crossing of the English channel by [[Louis Blériot]], with a face value of €2.00.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phil-ouest.com/Timbre.php?Nom_timbre=Bleriot_2009|title=Oblitération illustrée 1er jour à Paris (Musée des Arts et Métiers), à Blériot-Plage (Pas-de-Calais), à Cambrai (Nord) et à La Baule (Loire-Atlantique)|date= 8 March 2010|work=phil-ouest.com de Bernard Le Lann}}</ref>