The principal sights in Arras, historic captial of the Artois region, are its two main squares, the…read morehuge Grand Place and the smaller Place des Héros. Both are lined with 17th and 18th century houses, most designed individually, but built to a common overall plan in terms of their height and style. Their facades are lovely compositions of typically Flemish architecture. The Grand Place is, as its name suggests, the larger of the two, and contains some older houses dating back to the 15th Century. It's one of many claiming to be France's largest 'proper' town square, but its size, to my mind, is its undoing: it's just too large to work properly as a public space, feeling empty and bleak, despite the architecture. Much nicer is the smaller and more intimate Place des Héros, which is still spacious, but with more life and bustle to it, with plenty of good bars and restaurants. It's graced by the town's impressive Town Hall, which boasts a 75m belfry. Destroyed in the First World War, it was rebuilt in an elaborate version of the decorated Gothic style, and is beautifully maintained. Guided tours include underground passages constructed in the 10th century, and used for everything from sheltering injured troops in the war, to provided an excellent cellar for wine. You can also climb the belfry for an excellent view of the town (I declined on this occasion!). Both squares suffer badly from being used as car-parks, with constant traffic. The French are well known for building clever underground car parks, so why not here?

a wonderful place.it is a very large space surrender of houses and shops.we can see the beffroi of…read morearras from the grand place.i saw the concert of metallica this summer and it was amazing.15000 people.

This is a very nice French restaurant. I found it through reviews and very glad I did so! The…read morerestaurant is located a couple of buildings away from the little restaurant district so it's not as popular with the crowds, but is worth a visit. The experience started with 2 mini house appetizers free of charge (crackers with cheese and salmon). We ordered some nice red wine, Les Javeaux Cabernet. We tried 3 different types of fish, a fish soup, ficelle picarde, steak sirloin, beef dish and a couple of desserts. I found the filet mignon de porc farci, sauce au rollot de Picardie, poêlée de légumes de saison too dry for my taste, but the Bavette de boeuf Normande, sauce échalotes, Caviar d'aubergines, purée de patates douces was delicious! Overall the food is of great quality. I would recommend all of their fish dishes, as well as the Bavette de boeuf . Quick FYI, the menu is in French and there are no English menus available. But the waitress was kind enough to help us translate! Make reservations! The place was booked and packed at 8:30 in Friday.

From the owner: Leu duo est situé en plein cœur du quartier st leu à 2 pas de la cathédrale. Notre chef julien…read moresevenet travail exclusivement des produits frais et fait maison. Il nous tient à cœur de satisfaire nos clients tant par l'accueil chaleureux que par la cuisine proposé. Nous proposons des formules du jour le midi et nous avons un menu à 26 euros. Nous pouvons organiser vos événements, n'hésitez pas à nous contacter pour tout renseignements. A très bientôt dans notre restaurant elise et julien

Found on TripAdvisor, this youthful and funky restaurant has excellent service and food. I was…read moresurprised that little English was spoken, but nonetheless they were able to interpret my bad French to come up with a vegetarian dish. I had a fish that was served cold with coriander and avocado while my friend had the swordfish. Good cheesecake, a bit heavy perhaps. I love the decor!

This place was lovely. We did not have a reservation and we also speak very little French. The…read morestaff were extremely helpful, moving tables to accommodate us, verbally translating the menu, etc. The food was great. It arrived promptly, piping hot and delicious. We enjoyed a lovely, relaxed meal in a friendly atmosphere with very attentive and professional staff. Thank you!!

Excellent lunch at this honest and friendly place with one menu of the day... the food was…read moredelicious! The service was great! Price-quality fantastic! I visited this small restaurant this week with family and decided to order salmon for myself and veal for my two-year old... I shared with him and cannot tell you which of the two dishes I liked better... they were both soooo nice! The salmon came with a cauliflower sauce and a variety of fresh and very tasty vegetables. The veal had a wonderful sauce with purée and vegetables. It's not that we hadn't eaten well for a while... on the contrary... but for all of us this was our highlight of the past week food wise... Enjoy! I'll be glad to eat there again if in the area.

Hidden in a back alleyway, Les Compagnons de la Grappe is the place to come to try out Northern…read moreFrench dishes in a gorgeous garden or dining room setting. The service here was extremely friendly and attentive, offering us careful explanations of all their best dishes and accommodating all of our requests! The item to order if you don't know what to choose is the L'Assiette du Nord, a sampler plate which came with small square bowls of four of the Northern French specialties on the menu. The carbonnade was a sweet and savory stew made with tender chunks of beef and onions; the Welsh des Compagnons was a decadent dish of beer boiled with cheese, served over a slice of ham and a slice of bread (pain d'epices); the Pot'jevleesch was a cold terrine made with chunks of pork, chicken, and rabbit in a savory jelly; and the croquette de crevettes was a fritter made with a creamy batter mixed with little shrimps and served with a thick, creamy dip with herbs (almost like tzatziki). Every item on this plate was absolutely delicious, but I was a particular fan of the Welsh (great for spreading on more bread), the Pot'jevleesch (surprisingly flavorful yet refreshing), and the croquettes (the crispy exterior, the creamy, umami interior, and the cooling cream sauce went perfectly together). In addition to the sampler plate, I also ordered the Filet de Bar, or sea bass in a crispy parmesan crust, served over a tomato-onion compote in an iron plate. On the side also came a "bouillabaisse" in a tiny metal pot--this was a boiled soup made with seasonal summer vegetables including eggplant, zucchini, red onions, and tomatoes. This was a light and delicious seasonal dish, and the presentation and flavors of all the food here were extremely on point!

This was my favorite restaurant while visiting Lille…read more This cozy restaurant is set like family style... it has that warmth and shabby chick that you get as you walk into someone's dinning room. Very unpretentious and nice inside... outdoor you will find an open terrace with warm lighting and heaters for those winter days. It is a beautiful place. Having said that, the best part of this restaurant is the food... heart warming dishes, incredibly tasty bread, awesome wines and service couldn't get any better. Service here was friendly and very attentive. I usually heard of people in France being rude... but I could not disagree more. All of the people in this place were friendly... even other people at the restaurant with whom we talked for a bit and got a few recommendations as they are regulars here. We had a salmon tartare, raw tuna steak (very good), steak and fries and a lamb stew that was delicious all followed by a dessert that had a lot of things... I forgot the name but it was huge. Everything here was delicious. Prices are "very" reasonable. This place is a most visit when coming to Lille. Thumbs up.

From the owner: L'excellence arrageoise Cet établissement -haut-lieu de la gastronomie à Arras- ne reçoit dans sa…read morepetite salle très intimiste qu'une quarantaine de privilégiés. C'est dans une ambiance respectueuse de ce sacro-saint lieu que les mets les plus délicats sont servis à des clients qui communient dans le péché de la gourmandise raffinée. Une adresse incontournable pour les papilles les plus exigeantes.