Begun in the second half of the 12C and finished around 1230, this is one of the oldest Gothic cathedrals in France. The facade is one of the most beautiful (its towers demonstrate the pride of the presumed Architect Villard de Honnecourt), while the..

A quiet, floral garden has replaced the Templars' cemetery but the Romanesque octagonal Chapel has been preserved and has become The Temple to St John of Jerusalem (Order of Malta). Inside, see the transept by William of Harcigny.

This museum houses some marvellous archaeological collections including a series of Greek vases decorated with figures and a section dedicated to pre-history and Gallo-Roman and Merovingian jewellery. There are paintings by the three Le Nain brothers..

At the end of the Midi rampart, the Ardon gate (13C) is flanked by pepper pot shaped lookout turrets. It looks over a washing/drinking trough. From the rampart there are pleasant views over the plain. The rampart leads to a Citadel built by Jean Er..

Laon is built upon the limestone quarries it exploited over the course of the centuries from the Gallo-Roman era on. The underground passageways which served as a prison in the Middle Ages later came to be used as part of the town's defence system ..

Built in the 13C in fine quarry stone and reinforced with round towers it's linked by a bastion curtain to the huge Dame Eve tower also called the Leaning Tower after a landslide.

This old abbey, which is a fine example of early Gothic, has been restored after the fires of 1944. The exceptionally long nave preserves a Romanesque appearance. Inside the chancel and chapels in the flat chevet denote the Cistercian influence. Ther..

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This has become the Palace of Justice (Court of Justice), in front of which there is a courtyard from where you will have a view over the chevet of the cathedral. The 13C building to the left rests on a gallery of arches with foliated capitals. Below..

This cultural centre, (exhibitions, lecture theatre, Theatre) has been erected on the site of a hospital founded in the 13C.

This old 12C hospital used to open onto the street through bays and arcades that are today walled up. The Gothic-style, underground Great Hall of the sick and the lower room, called the Passants, have been preserved.

http://www.zevisit.com/Columbus/partenaire/ETAPE/FLUXXMLDOWNLOAD/US/VIAMICHELIN/72/etape-audio.mp3

Between the streets of Chenizelles and Bourg this is the gate covering the passage from the suburb to the main City.

http://www.zevisit.com/Columbus/partenaire/ETAPE/FLUXXMLDOWNLOAD/US/VIAMICHELIN/69/etape-audio.mp3

This is flanked by old buildings; the Val des Ecoliers Priory (13C) and the refuge of the Abbot of Val St Pierre (15C and 16C).

The Jesuit Jacques-Marquette (1637-1675) discovered the Mississippi, which is commemorated by this monument set up in a square near to the Soissons gate.

http://www.zevisit.com/Columbus/partenaire/ETAPE/FLUXXMLDOWNLOAD/US/VIAMICHELIN/68/etape-audio.mp3

http://www.zevisit.com/Columbus/partenaire/ETAPE/FLUXXMLDOWNLOAD/US/VIAMICHELIN/70/etape-audio.mp3

http://www.zevisit.com/Columbus/partenaire/ETAPE/FLUXXMLDOWNLOAD/US/VIAMICHELIN/71/etape-audio.mp3

This road follows the route around the ramparts, giving some interesting views over the cathedral whose towers stand out above the old tiled roofs and red brick chimneys.