Looking out over the plains of Champagne and Picardy
from the spine of a high narrow ridge, girt still by its gated medieval
walls, LAON , 36km southeast of St-Quentin, is one of the gems
of the region. Dominating the town, and visible for miles around, are
the five great towers of one of the earliest and finest Gothic
cathedrals in the country. Of all the cathedral towns in the Aisne,
Laon is the one to head for.
Laon's number-one attraction is its magnificent Cathédrale Notre-Dame
(daily 9am-6.30pm; guided tours from tourist office: July & Aug
daily 2pm & 5pm; rest of year Sat, Sun & public hols 3pm).
Built in the second half of the twelfth century, the cathedral was a
trendsetter in its day, elements of its design - the gabled porches,
the imposing towers and the gallery of arcades above the west front -
being repeated at Chartres, Reims and Notre-Dame in Paris.
When wrapped in thick mist, the towers seem other-worldly. The
creatures craning from the uppermost ledges appear to be reckless
mountain goats borrowed from some medieval bestiary and are reputed to
have been carved in memory of the valiant horned steers who lugged the
cathedral's masonry up from the plains below. Inside, the effects are
no less dramatic - the high white nave is lit by the dense ruby,
sapphire and emerald tones of the stained glass, which at close range
reveals the appealing scratchy, smoky quality of medieval glass.
Crowding
in the cathedral's lee are a web of quiet, grey, eighteenth-century
streets. One - rue Pourier - leads past the post office and onto the
thirteenth-century Porte d'Ardon , which looks out over the southern part of the ville basse . A left turn at the post office along rue Ermant leads to the little twelfth-century octagonal Chapelle des Templiers - the Knights Templar - set in a secluded garden by the Musée de Laon
, 32 rue Georges-Ermant (daily except Tues 10am-noon & 2-6pm;
winter 2-5pm; €3.05), which has a collection of classical antiquities.
The rest of the ville haute , which rambles along the ridge to the west of the cathedral into the Le Bourg quarter around the early Gothic church of St-Martin , is good to wander in, with grand views from the ramparts .
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides.
All rights reserved.The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
