Memorial sites
Take time to fully grasp the past
A new way to help you discover the Great War. Deeply marked by the global conflict, Arras Pays d’Artois Tourism and Lens Liévin Tourism are teaming up to create a new international memorial tourism destination, combining history, itinerant touring and memorable experiences: Artois Hills & Plains 14-18.
13 major sites of the Memory Trails 14-18
Plaine de Lens backs on to the Artois hills. Between 1915 and 1918, the front line sliced through these two places from one end to the other. Nowhere else in the world can we see as many significant traces of the First World War.
Between Loos-en-Gohelle (north of Lens) and Serre-les-Puisieux (south of Arras), we find 13 out of 36 major Memory Trail sites. These include the Memory Ring, Vimy Canadian Commemorative Park and the Wellington Quarry.
Shared memory
Arras Pays d’Artois Tourism and Lens-Liévin Tourism are joining forces to host common events, including gentle hikes which combine remembrance, well-being, emotions and encounters. In the Artois hills and on the plains, each town and village features its own memorial site or military cemetery. Life has been rebuilt from the ashes of death and today, soothing landscapes have replaced the battle fields; places that once lay devastated have been regenerated and now welcome hikers, walkers and sportspeople. These places boast rare emotional strength, they tell a story of hope, resilience, rebirth, peace and the force of renewal…
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