Art trail in Laon

Formerly the property of the Bishop of Laon (known as the Grange-L'Evêque farm), all that remains today is this ancient dovecote dating from the early 17th century, with its typical brick and stone architecture. The site is now private...

This mythologically inspired statue was created in 1881 by Ernest Damé (1845-1920), a sculptor from Burgundy. Cephalus holds in his arms his wife Procris, whom he has just pierced with his javelin, having inadvertently mistaken her in a grove for the game he was tracking... Note that this sculpture was donated to Laon by the French government...

The architect Charles Abella (1879-1961) was commissioned after the First World War to design a monument for Laon: originally, it was to take the form of a Victory and be built in the upper town, on the Saint-Vincent plateau. The project then evolved, and the Mont de Vaux, halfway between the upper and lower towns, was chosen as the site for this monumental sculpture (around 16 metres high), both Minerva and Victory, facing the upper town. The monument took almost two years to erect, and was officially unveiled in early summer 1926. It should be noted that it is flanked on its right by a stele in tribute to the concentration camp martyrs of the Second World War (1957), and on its left by a plaque in tribute to the French Marshals of the Second World War (2000s).

A new viewpoint has just been built on the north side, just beside the municipal staircase, giving you a panoramic view of the northern plains (with the church of Saint-Marcel and the station district below). All you have to do now is sit back and enjoy the view!

This monument, the creation of which was decided in 1937 to commemorate the tercentenary of the birth of the Jesuit Jacques Marquette, was intended to recall the memory of this Laonnois who, in the company of the geographer Louis Jolliet, discovered the Mississippi River in 1673. This was previously located in the square around the Porte de Soissons, and only the stele representing Père Marquette was moved to its current location in 2003. And even if the memory of his name has faded in France, you should know that he remains an eminently well-known figure in the United States. When you stand in front of the stele, read the dedication on it: "How beautiful the sun is, Frenchman, When you come to visit us".

One of the remaining towers in Laon's fortified belt, which numbered around forty in medieval times. It was used to keep watch over the Lupsault gate, which has now disappeared and was formerly located next to the former Caisse d'Epargne savings bank on Avenue Gambetta. The gate was restored in 2015 by the Remparts integration project run by the City of Laon.

The Musée du Pays de Laon takes visitors on a journey through time and space, from prehistory to the 19th century. The Mediterranean archaeology rooms (Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Etruscan and Roman civilisations) have been given a new thematic presentation. Eighteenth-century furniture and earthenware, paintings from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, including ‘The Annunciation’, an altarpiece panel, circa 1410, and ‘The Concert’ by Mathieu Le Nain. Regional archaeology is also well represented, with artefacts from the Gallo-Roman and medieval periods. The building stands on an ancient site that once belonged to the Templar Order of Laon, and the chapel of the former commandery can still be seen in the adjoining garden...