Hotel Diamant, Arras

Advantages: nice, lively
Disadvantages: none

.... My friends and me were already home sick, because we were quite shy, and didn’t dare to speak English. Our family was very friendly, and made everything for us to be at ease. The first week end, we visited Ipswich, which is the twined town of the French town where I live : Arras. Ipswich has nothing to do with Arras. It is such a nice town, with a lot of pubs, public gardens (with squirrels!). There is many streets with shops and shopping centres which are even open on Sunday, which is very rare in France. Ipswich is a lively town and didn’t bore at all.There is always something to do. I went to the cinema with my friends (we saw ‘The Mummy return’), I went in a sport centre, we had long walks in streets and public gardens. Of course on the evening, we often went to pubs with other French people. The company where I worked was far from... Read review

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Advantages: Friendly Atmosphere
Disadvantages: Not A Tourist Destination

...(department 62), around a 1 hour drive South-East of Calais. It is surrounded by other major towns such as Bethune and Arras and finds itself at a reasonable distance from major city Lille. Transport links are very good due to its prime location in the North with ferry crossings from Dover to nearby Calais as well as from Folkestone to Boulogne, a little further away. Alternatively, one could also travel down from Belgium but this takes a lot longer. The trains run fairly smoothly in this part of France but can be quite uncomfortable as most money is pumped into the Eurostar trains. The station is located in prime position, around 5 minutes from the shopping streets and perfectly positioned to exit onto quintessential French cafe bars. The station itself is clean and tidy and of a non-confusing size (you can't get lost!). The Eurostar trains run... Read review

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Advantages: Eat, drink and shop....
Disadvantages: ....until you drop

.... I have limited the latter to places where I have either stayed myself or have first-hand reports from people whose opinions I trust. In this context it is worth mentioning that I tend to avoid chains (of which there are several, e.g. Ibis, Novotel, Formule1, Campanile, some of which provide very good value) and look for independent hotels with character. In alphabetical order: ARRAS. The Chef-Lieu, or county town. About an hour's drive inland down the A26 motorway, but worth it. Two fine central squares (Grand' Place and Place des Héros) that form the site of a splendid Saturday morning market. Ancient Abbey (St Vaast) near town centre. Also underground passages used as British command centre and field hospital in WW1. Two characterful mid-priced hotels in the town centre are the L'Univers (0033 321 71 34 01) and Les Trois Luppars (0033... Read review

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