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Getting to Neuville-Saint-Vaast and exploring the area
Getting to Neuville-Saint-Vaast and exploring the area
A village in Artois, in the Pas-de-Calais department, Neuville-Saint-Vaast stretches along the D937 — the old N37 trunk road from Arras to Béthune — halfway between Arras and Lens.
About 10 km north of Arras and 13 km south-west of Lens, via the D937. The A1 (Paris–Lille) and A26 (Calais–Reims) motorways pass a few kilometres away.
The nearest station is Arras, served by TGV high-speed trains from Paris-Nord (just under an hour) and by TER regional trains from Lille. From there, allow about fifteen minutes by car.
Neuville sits at the centre of a unique group of Great War remembrance sites, all within a few minutes of each other. Road distances are approximate.
The Torch of Peace, the Church of Saint-Laurent, the German military cemetery of Neuville-Saint-Vaast (Maison-Blanche), La Targette French national cemetery and La Targette British Cemetery, the Czechoslovak military cemetery and the monument to the Polish volunteers. See Monuments & remembrance.
About 5 km away, on the ridge taken by the Canadians in April 1917. The park, trenches, tunnels and visitor centre are free.
About 10 km away, at Ablain-Saint-Nazaire: the largest French military cemetery, and the international memorial bearing 579,606 names.
About 6 km away, the free history centre at the foot of Lorette, for understanding the fighting in Artois.
The Wellington Quarry and the citadel in Arras, the Louvre-Lens, the slag heaps of the mining basin… All these places are presented on the website From slag heaps to the sea (lens-tourisme.fr).
The village's official website: neuville-st-vaast.fr (in French).
Arras Pays d'Artois (in French) · Lens-Liévin (in French) · Pas-de-Calais Tourisme
Mémoire des hommes (French soldiers, in French), CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission), Volksbund (German soldiers).
Chemins de mémoire (French Ministry of the Armed Forces), Archives départementales du Pas-de-Calais, Artois 14-18, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Volksbund, Mémoire des hommes, the French Ministry of Culture and the Pas-de-Calais prefecture (2023 UNESCO inscription), the village's heritage file, Wikipasdecalais, and the eyewitness accounts quoted on these pages.
Website by Sébastien Deneux. The old postcards are shown for heritage and documentary purposes. The photos of the monuments come from the former neuville-saint-vaast.fr website.
Thanks to Bernard Lorthioir, Philippe Pellot, Patricia Legrand, Claire, Jean-Marc, Jean-Pierre Olivier and the municipality of Neuville-Saint-Vaast, who all contributed in one way or another to the first version of the site.
Spotted a mistake, have a detail to add, or a postcard to share? They are all very welcome.