Office de Tourisme du Pays de Laon

Land deeply marked by History, Laonnois is a diverse country, endowed with a particularly rich natural, historical, and architectural heritage.

This territory is dominated by the "Montagne Couronnée", nickname of the medieval city of Laon due to its particular topography which makes it overlook the surroundings by about a hundred meters…

The perched town of Laon shines over a rich and varied land and prides itself on its 84 classified monuments which have earned it the title of "City of Art and History".

Still a "capital" of Carolingian France shortly before the Year 1000, and due to its wealth notably from its viticultural heritage, Laon saw the emergence of many prestigious buildings, such as its cathedral (an illustration of "primitive Gothic" which served as an example to its counterparts in Chartres and Paris), the Abbey of Saint Martin (created by Saint Norbert, founder of the Order of Premonstratensians), and also the Templar chapel (testifying to the deep establishment of this medieval order in Laonnois). A building fever facilitated by the exploitation of limestone located under the hill of Laon, galleries that now recently host one of the major tourist products of the destination, the 'Secrets under the city' tour.

At its gates, there is also the stronghold of the Lords of Coucy (whose famous castle ruins are still to be visited) and the valleys of the Saint-Gobain forest.

It is also Vauclair, its abbey and its medicinal plant garden, and the sadly famous Chemin des Dames… So called because it was taken by the daughters of Louis XV shortly before the Revolution, this ridge path is better known for having become the front line between 1914 and 1918 and the tragic stage of the Nivelle offensive in 1917 which, after so many battles, has become once again a place filled with natural beauty and peacefulness.