"Arras" a Arras Travel Page by Mikebond

Arras is the capital city of the Pas-de-Calais département and is not very renowned as a tourist destination. However, it has certainly so much to offer that my half-day visit proved not to be enough.
Many buildings of this city look similar to those of Flemish and Dutch cities. This happens because Arras was dominated by the Spanish from 1492 to 1659. In that period, the Kingdom of España owned the so-called Spanish Netherlands: most of those territories gained independence in 1830 and formed today's Kingdom of Belgique-België. However, Arras and other Northern French provinces never belonged to Belgium.
The name of Arras comes from the Gaulish people of Atrebates who lived in Northern France.
Even if Arras is not famous as a tourist city, all French people know it thanks to an old traditional song performed, among others, by Fernandel: Avec l'ami Bidasse ("With my friend Bidasse").