Valenciennes (France)

The Cathedral spire

We were very keen to visit Valenciennes, the last town of note in France along the Escaut River. The tourist information looked interesting but neither our club mooring guides nor the official charts showed anywhere in the town where we could stop. However, an old, general guide to French Waterways mentioned a place to stay "in the branch of the river leading to the weir". Emboldened, we turned into the back stream, away from the lock, and found an excellent mooring spot complete with well- spaced bollards.

Valenciennes Railway Station
From this excellent spot we explored the town. The first place to catch our eye was the huge Railway Station, built in grand style, and providing a departure point for many varied destinations. Valenciennes also has an excellent modern tram system which seemed to have plenty of passengers.

Valenciennes was greatly damaged by bombing in World War 11 and as a result some of the oldest buildings were lost. some remained though: the Tourist Bureau was located in an old wooden fronted Spanish house and the beautiful Town Hall building seemed to be intact, fronted by an impressive and active town square.

The Reubens Room

The Art Gallery was the highlight of our trip to Valenciennes. Our Art Education continues! There were also some exquisite ancient works of art from Valenciennes' very early days.

Sculptures by Carpeaux

 Crocodile, early 6th Century

Valenciennes Town Hall

2nd Century statuette, the god "Lare"

A staggering number of deaths in the world wars