Hotels,Vacation Packages - Arrival information and Accommodation in Laon

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 €0.98, day ticket €1.30), 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 on place Général-Leclerc; from there a justify 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 Hôtel-Dieu, built in 1209. For accommodation in the ville basse , try Le Welcome (tel 03.23.23.06.11; under €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 Cloître, 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 €24; restaurant from €9.76F; hotel closed Sun evening, restaurant closed Sat & Sun), is a good bet, as is the charming and characterful old Hôtel des Chevaliers , at 3 rue Serrurier, near the Poma stop (tel 03.23.27.17.50, fax 03.23.23.40.71; under €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; €34-46; restaurant from €12.81) or the adjacent Première Classe (tel 03.23.23.44.55, fax 03.23.23.21.01; €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 allée de la Chenaie, on the northwest side of the town.