A good place to start a visit to the Ardennes (Charleville-Mezieres)

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Charleville-Mezieres
Date:	05/08/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice town centre, a great place to start exploring the Ardennes

Disadvantages: Not too much to do

Without the slopes of the Alps, the beaches of the Vendee, the glitz of Nice and Cannes or the architecture of Paris, Charleville-Mezieres i the North Eastern corner of France can easily be overlooked.

The outskirts of the town are unremarkable, people seem friendly enough and none of the districts are eye sores but it's the centre and the surrounding area that should really grab your attention. The town is the capital of the Ardennes department and is well connected to Paris by motorway.

The centre is very much made up of Place Ducale and Promenade en Caleche, the first an impressive square with rather tall almost English looking buildings this often houses markets and its a pleasure to enjoy a stroll through the arcades. Promenade en Caleche is a busy shopping street (busy by Charleville standards).

There are numerous churches of which St. Remi is the most impressive, several museums but none that are likely to get you too excited if you are a regular museum goer. Another sight worth seeing is a pleasant little fern filled park with a square and monument dedicated to Churchill.

Charleville is not particularly amazing but the area to the north east is absolutely gorgeous, I recommend using it as a starting place for a trip up the river Meuse, the gorgeous forested ravine filled Ardennes valley leads up to Belgium and is most definitely worth exploring.

Summary: Spend a bit of time here before going up the valley