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Arrival, information and accommodation
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Arriving by train or road, you'll find yourself in the disappointingly shabby and characterless lower town, or
ville basse
. To get to the upper town, or
ville haute
, you can either walk - a stiff climb up the steps at the end of avenue Carnot - or take the
Poma 2000
(Mon-Sat 7am-8pm; July & Aug also Sun 2.30-6pm; one-way 6.40F/€0.98, day ticket 8.50F/€1.30), a fully automated, diminutive, rubber-tyred, overland metro, Laon's pride and joy. You board next to the train station and get out by the town hall on place General-Leclerc; from there a left turn down rue Serrurier brings you nose to nose with the cathedral.
The
tourist office
is right by the cathedral (March-June, Sept & Oct Mon-Sat 9am-12.30pm & 2-6.30pm, Sun 11am-1pm & 2-6pm; July & Aug Mon-Sat 9am-1pm & 2-7pm, Sun 11am-1pm & 2-5pm; Nov-Feb Mon-Sat 9am-12.30pm & 2-6pm, Sun 11am-1pm & 2-5pm; tel 03.23.20.28.62, fax 03.23.20.68.11,
www.ville-laon.fr
), housed within the impressive Gothic Hotel-Dieu, built in 1209. For
accommodation
in the
ville basse
, try
Le Welcome
(tel 03.23.23.06.11; under 160F/€24), at 2 av Carnot, straight in front of the
gare SNCF
. The cheapest solution in the
ville haute
is the hostel
Maison des Jeunes
, 20 rue du Cloitre, by the cathedral (tel 03.23.23.27.79). As for hotels,
La Paix
, 52 rue St-Jean (tel 03.23.79.06.34; under 160F/€24; restaurant from 64/€9.76F; hotel closed Sun evening, restaurant closed Sat & Sun), is a good bet, as is the charming and characterful old
Hotel des Chevaliers
, at 3 rue Serrurier, near the Poma stop (tel 03.23.27.17.50, fax 03.23.23.40.71; under 160F/€24). On the eastern edge of the town, along avenue de Gaulle, there's a concentration of motel-type places: try the
Campanile
(tel 03.23.23.15.05, fax 03.23.23.04.25; 220-300F/€34-46; restaurant from 84F/€12.81) or the adjacent
Premiere Classe
(tel 03.23.23.44.55, fax 03.23.23.21.01; 160-220F/€24-34). The
camping municipal
is on the south side of the
ville basse
, near the
stade municipal
, just off the N44. Alternatively, there's
Camping La Chenaie
(tel 03.23.20.25.56; closed Nov-March), on allee de la Chenaie, on the northwest side of the town. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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France,
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