This medieval city is isolated on top of a 100-meter-high limestone, puncturing the surrounding low, flat plains.
In the high town, encircled by eight kilometers of walls and formidable gates is France’s biggest protected historic center. There are more than 80 historic monuments to discover in a city that was the capital of the Carolingian Empire in the early middle ages. But the crowning glory is the Laon Cathedral, which can see kilometers in every direction, and is one of the earliest and greatest Gothic architectural monuments in France. The ground beneath you in the high town is also dug with tunnels first dug in Rome and revealed to the public during tours in July and August. Discover the best things to do in Laon.
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1. Laon Cathedral
The first sign of Laon as you approach by road will be the towers of this church peeking through the horizon. And you can see how it might have left medieval travelers awestruck. It was completed in 1235 and is one of the first major Gothic structures in France, even the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
As long as you need to appreciate the sculptures on the porch of the western facade, as well as the traces in the rose window above. The use of local white stone makes the interior of the nave feel almost bright.
For decoration, see the 12th-century font, the painted relief of the Passion from the 14th century and a Serbian icon donated to the cathedral by Pope Urban IV in the 13th century.
2. Chapelle des Templiers
Knights Templar chapels are rare finds in France, and it’s even rarer to see one in such good condition. And only two others in the country share this chapel’s octagonal floor-plan. The monument dates back to 1140, about 12 years after the Templar order settled in the city and will serve as a funeral chapel.
Examine the mosaic floor, decorative pieces, gravestone and sculpture in the choir. And outside on the sides of the walls of the narthex are weird sculpted gargoyles. The peaceful flower garden around the chapel is where the cemetery used to be and is good for a minute or two of repose.
3. Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie
The chapel is also on the grounds of Laon’s museum of art and archaeology. In a city with 1,500 years of powerful tenants, you can be sure that the museum is overflowing with artifacts: There's a Gaulish torque, 7th-century strands, medieval bricks, a worrying tomb of doctors for Charles VI and an innocent beauty from Sinceny.
The art galleries are enriched by painting from the 1500s to the 1800s, composed by French, Dutch, Flemish and Italian artists. Henri Bles and Hubert Robert are among the more well-known names, but there are also paintings by the rich Eugène Delacroix.
4. Laon’s Ramparts
When you approach the high town from the plains and find it dominates the countryside, you know that the landscape will become spectacular. And they don’t disappoint: The best panoramas can be had from atop the old walls on the north and south side of the high town.
Among these, Rempart Guillaume de Harcigny and Promenade Yitzhak Rabin are spectacular, and have an enhanced look with the trees and benches between the citadel and Porte d punch Arrdon. You can just sit back and stare at a mosaic of forests and farmland that lasts forever.
5. Porte d’Ardon
The old southeast entrance of the city is at the top of a zigzag road on the hard slope to the town above. There has been an opening in the defenses right here since the 10th century, and the current gate is from around the 1400s.
It looked like a small fortress of its own, with a turret on each side crowned with a conical roof. As you pass through the gate, look up at the wooden slats on the ceiling, while just descending from the gate is an old toilet or washhouse.
6. Porte de Soissons
Confronted by this beast of a gate an invading army might have thought twice about taking on Laon. Porte de Soissons is less aristocratic and inferior to Porte d'Andon but slightly older than the port on town.
This is from the early 1200s and has two big round towers with many round arrows on the wall. The top floor of the building is a guardhouse that was installed in the 16th century, and though the gate is a ruin you can make out the beautiful stonework when you look up.
7. Cours de Dauphin
Nestled within the fence of cobblestone streets a few steps from the church is a wonderful townhouse around the yard. One of the curious things about this building is its composite style, with parts from the 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th centuries easily identifiable.
On the south wall is a lovely wooden and brick building with a wooden gallery above the old stable on the ground floor.
Also, see carved stone turrets and murmuring windows in the hallway: Legend has it that Louis XIV was invented here by Louis XIII and Anne of Austria after the pilgrimage to the Black Virgin in Liesse.
8. Ancien Hôtel-Dieu
Many French tourist offices are housed in historic buildings, but few can be as enchanting as Laonui medieval hospital.
The Hôtel-Dieu is by the cathedral and dates to 1167. While you're browsing the city 's flyers, books and scale models here, take a look through the walls, where faint traces of medieval frescoes remain.
The old reception room, with its columns and vaults, is solemn, and you'll notice how the roads once opened on the Place du Parvis Gualter de Mortagne have been filled.
9. Église Saint-Martin
Completed almost at the same time as the church, this first Gothic-style church is a monastery for the order of Premonstratensian sticks. Although the building suffered some damage in 1944, it was completely restored and there was a lot to see close up.
First, there is an unusually long nave, which is a classic Roman feature and shows how the church was built when the Gothic style was applied.
There is a beautifully carved oak platform from the 19th century and two mannequin tomb dummies, one of Jeanne de Flandres is an old monastery, and the other is Raoul II of Coucy.
10. Laon Souterrain
One of the first things you should do when you arrive in Laon in summer is to put your name down for a tour of the tunnels under the city. These walks are organized by the tourist office and will take you deep into the limestone bedrock below the citadel.
There are hundreds of meters of tunnels, dug across 2,000 years. They were originally quarries for monuments like the cathedral but were later used for defense after the advent of gunpowder. What’s astounding is how you’ll step into a different era every few meters down here.
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