Arrival, information and accommodation
France > North > Aisne and Oise > Laon > Information
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 – ville haute – without your own transport, you can make the stiff climb up the steps at the end of avenue Carnot, or take the Poma 2000 (Mon–Sat 7am–8pm; July & Aug also Sun 2.30–5pm; one-day return ticket €1), a fully automated, diminutive, rubber-tyred, overland métro, Laon's pride and joy. You board next to the train station and get out by the town hall (Terminus "Hôtel de Ville") on place Général-Leclerc; from there a left turn down rue Sérurier brings you nose to nose with the cathedral.The tourist office is right by the western end of the cathedral (Mon–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 2–6pm, Sun 11am–1pm & 2–5.30pm; tel 03.23.20.28.62, www.ville-laon.fr), housed within the impressive Gothic Hôtel-Dieu, built in 1209; ask for information about local gîtes and guesthouses. Otherwise, for accommodation in the ville basse, try Le Welcome (tel 03.23.23.06.11; under €30), at 2 av Carnot, straight in front of the gare SNCF. In the ville haute, Hôtel de la Paix, 52 rue St-Jean (tel 03.23.79.06.34; €30–40; restaurant from €11; hotel closed Sun, restaurant closed Sat & Sun), is a good bet, as is the charming and characterful old Hôtel des Chevaliers, at 3–5 rue Sérurier, near the Poma stop (tel 03.23.27.17.50, [email protected]; €30–40). Laon's smartest accommodation – along with well-prepared, traditional food – is to be had at the three-star Hôtel de la Bannière de France, at 11 rue Franklin Roosevelt (tel 03.23.23.21.44, www.hoteldelabannieredefrance.com; €55–70; restaurant from €20). 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; €40–55; restaurant from €13) or the adjacent Première Classe (tel 03.23.23.44.55, fax 03.23.23.21.01; €30–40). La Chênaie (tel 03.23.20.25.56; May–Sept), Laon's only campsite, is on allée de la Chênaie, on the northwest side of town.
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