Arras

[Mick D]

Can anyone recomend a safe place to park within Arras whilst I visit the tunnels.

An idea as to the price would also be welcomed.

Mick D

[59165]

Just park outside the tunnel,Mick.Ample parking there or,if your worried,theres a supermarket just down the road a bit.I take it your talkin aboot Wellington & not the Beffroi/Mairie tunnels.

Dave.

[Mick D]

Is there a charge for parking there ?

Mick

(it is the Wellington tunnels I'm interested in)

[59165]

No,I am sure its free.

Even if there was a charge,its not like here,quid an hour etc.

Arras parking is like a lot of towns & free between 12 & 2 but I'm sure the tunnel parking is free.

[Mick D]

thanks for that.

Mick

[Paul Reed]

Parking is free in the grounds of the Wellington Tunnel site. There is plenty of space, and it is off road parking.

[ph1418]

As others have said there is free parking at the Wellington Tunnels - there is a E.Leclerc supermarket next door which has plenty of space in the unlikely event of the other being full.

There is also a huge underground car park(I think around Euro 10/12 per day) in Arras by the Station - can walk from there to the Wellington tunnels within 5/10 minutes

Paul

[Mick D]

Are the Wellington tunnels the same ones mentioned on the Arras tourism site as the 'Boves ?'

Mick

[Mike Cross]

My opinion; avoid the "Boves" - it used to be okay, but usually features some overgrown carrots and veg and has become a bit of fun for the locals. They are accessed under the Town Hall and were interesting until the new Wellington Carriere was opened in March. A little bit of a walk from the town centre but well worth it.

[Mick D]

Thanks Mike.

[angelab]

Blimey, I have just seen a pic of the Jardin des Boves here! Quelle horreur!

But this annual display of vegetation finished on 22 June, so the "boves" beneath the town hall are properly visitable again now.

Mick, the "boves" is a complex beneath the town hall, on Place des Heros, to which the tourist office (in the same building) run guided tours. Until the Wellington Quarries opened this year, that was the only tunnel tour you could take in Arras. (Parking in town centre is metred or pay-and-display - can't remember which; but not expensive compared with UK. And as said above, free over lunch time.)

But I am sure you would want the Wellington Quarries, which are a bit out of the centre and - as said above - there is a free car park there.

But wherever I parked, at home or abroad, I would never leave my passport, tickets, money or sat-nav in the car.

Angela

[59165]

Aw,c'mon folks!

The caves/passages under Arras (befroi/place des héros if u want)were around centuries before the War started & they are still there & some are still used,not just by the tourist industry either.

All I've seen is criticism of the Wellington tunnel for a guide who's English & history wasn't up to your standards & now its the befroi tunnels,which without doubt hold the 1st WW1 relics/history that the town has shown in an official sense to its visitors.

If you really want to criticize Arras,do it for the lack of publicity on the house wall etchings/names on some of the older parts of town.

That puts even Avril's cellar in the shade.

[angelab]

I agree, 59165. I love the Beffroi tunnels too! They are very atmospheric. And the tunnels at Naours, and at Vimy, and at Domqueur.

Not to mention coal-mining museums' tunnels too (but off-topic here).

And I thought the guide at the Wellington had it about spot-on for the range of people she had in her charge. And she was so thoughtful, that when she saw me scribbling down notes in the pitch-dark, she directed her torch onto my notebook to help me! I found all the staff at the Wellington to be delightful.

Angela

[Wesley Wright]

Have just visited the Wellinton Quarry tunnels for first time---excellent, sound and effects--tremendous.

10 minutes walk from station--parking beside entrance. THE tunnels are on Bapume rd Arras. on left side of road leavinf Arras.

Wesley Wright

[Mick D]

Are the wellington tunnels near enough to the centre of Arras, to allow a visit on foot ?

Mick

[Paul Reed]

Yes, I would say it would take about 15 minutes from the railway station.

[Mick D]

Thanks for that Paul, I'm just preparing for my visit in Oct !

Mick