ノビオン-ポルシアンのおすすめライド

The beautiful and strikingly modern town hall of the Mezières district. The adjacent forecourt was traffic-calmed a few years ago. There's also a drinking water fountain in the southwest corner of the square.

Sweet little town between Meuse and Champagne

Attention here is drawn to the mechanical giant - Grand Marionnettiste - located between the Musée de l'Ardenne and the Institut International de Marionnette. This mechanical clock plays an excerpt from the Ardennes legend of the Four Heemskinderen every hour between 10:00 and 21:00.

The bright colors of the local materials can be seen on the facades that were previously painted: yellow for the natural stone from Dom-le-Mesnil, red for the bricks and purple-white for the Ardennes slate. The whole falls under monument protection.

Place Ducale is the central and historic main square of Charleville, the northern part of Charleville-Mézières. The square is a copy of the Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris. The only big difference is that the square in Paris was designed by Louis Métezeau and that of Charleville by Clément Métezeau, so brothers. The square is a feast for the eyes with 28 monumental buildings, built in the same Baroque style. In the center of the square there is a fountain and a classic merry-go-round. The Place Ducale became the beating heart of the city and still is. The symmetrical lines, the chessboard pattern, the arcades and the facades in red and yellow stone now regularly form the backdrop to events for which the city is known. The square was founded by its ambitious founder, the Italian prince Charles de Gonzague, who had a completely new city built in the 17th century. The square is 126 by 90 meters and the current buildings on the edge of the square all date from the 17th century.

The statue of Carlo Gonzaga is the work of Alphonse Colle, from Charleville, who also created the monuments to the fallen of Charleville and Mézières. The fountain was first built on Place Ducale in 1899 at the initiative of a wealthy patron of the Industrial Revolution and then moved to its current location in 1999.

The “Monument aux Morts” in Mézières, now part of Charleville-Mézières, is a memorial that pays tribute to the 397 inhabitants of the city who died for France. The monument is located on the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, near the Hôtel de Ville de Mézières.

The Hôtel de Ville de Mézières, was rebuilt after the bombings of November 1918 and construction was completed in 1930. The facade of the building contains elements of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The interior of the Town Hall reveals a neo-Baroque decoration. In 1966, the municipality of Charleville-Mézières was created by the merger of several municipalities, making the Hôtel de Ville de Mézières the town hall of Charleville-Mézières. The town hall is located on Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, which was completely renovated and modernized between 2018 and 2020. It is an impressive building that reflects Charleville-Mézières' status as a department capital.