Visit Cambrai: an English guide to the city

Why visit Cambrai?

Cambrai is a mid-sized city in the Nord department of northern France, set in the gently rolling farmland of the Cambrésis. For more than two thousand years it has stood at a crossroads of routes between the North Sea and the interior, and that long history is written into its streets: a UNESCO-listed belfry, a cathedral that holds the tomb of the writer-archbishop Fénelon, fine museums, the remains of mighty fortifications, and one of the most famous sweets in France, the Bêtise de Cambrai.

The historic centre is compact and easy to explore on foot, which makes Cambrai an ideal stop for a day trip or a relaxed weekend. Visitors come for the Flemish-style architecture and the museums, for the hearty food and beers of the North, and for the memory of the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, the first massed tank attack in history, whose sites are scattered through the surrounding countryside. This page is your starting point: a quick overview, then links to fuller guides on things to see and the history of Cambrai.

Things to see in Cambrai at a glance

If you only have time for the essentials, these are the highlights. Each one is described in detail in our guide to things to see and do in Cambrai.

• The belfry — listed as UNESCO World Heritage, it rises above the Grand'Place and is climbed by stairs for a panoramic view.
• The Grand'Place — the lively heart of the city, lined with Flemish façades, terraces and brasseries.
• Notre-Dame-de-Grâce cathedral — a neoclassical building that holds the tomb of Fénelon and the venerated "Madonna of Cambrai".
• The Musée des Beaux-Arts — one of the oldest museums in the region, famous for its 17th-century relief map of the city.
• The Porte de Paris and the remains of the Spanish and French fortifications.
• The Matisse Museum at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, about 28 km away, one of the most important Matisse collections in France.
• A sweet shop — to taste the celebrated Bêtise de Cambrai.

A short history of Cambrai

Cambrai began as the Roman town of Camaracum, set at the meeting point of Roman roads in the lands of the Nervii. From late antiquity the town grew into a Christian centre — tradition links its early religious life to Saint Géry — and in the Middle Ages it became a powerful episcopal city whose bishops held both spiritual authority and the temporal power of counts within the Holy Roman Empire. Its great Gothic cathedral, lost at the Revolution, was once nicknamed "the wonder of the Low Countries".

Because it sat on a shifting frontier, Cambrai gave its name to famous diplomatic episodes: the League of Cambrai (1508) and the Peace of Cambrai (1529), known as the "Ladies' Peace". It was conquered under Louis XIV in the later 17th century and joined permanently to France, its fortifications modernised in the tradition of Vauban. The 20th century brought the city its best-known chapter: the Battle of Cambrai 1917. Read the full story on our history of Cambrai page.

Food: the Bêtise de Cambrai and northern cooking

No visit to Cambrai is complete without tasting a Bêtise de Cambrai. According to local tradition, this sweet was born from a mistake in the 19th century — "bêtise" means a small blunder — when a confectioner's apprentice is said to have spilled mint essence into a batch of boiling sweets. To hide the error he stretched the paste and drew a stripe of caramel along each one. Customers loved the refreshing flavour and the pretty caramel stripe, and the name stuck. The sweets are still made by hand by Cambrai confectioners, who pull the cooked sugar to give it its airy texture and pearly colour, and they come in mint as well as poppy, violet, fruit and other flavours, often sold in collectable decorated tins.

Beyond the Bêtise, Cambrai shares in the rich cooking of the North. Estaminets (traditional taverns) serve dishes such as flamiche au maroilles (a tart filled with the strong local Maroilles cheese), carbonnade flamande (beef slowly braised in brown beer) and welsh (toast under melted cheddar with beer and mustard). Local cheeses, gaufres fourrées (filled wafers), sugar tart and the strong beers of the North round out the table.

Plan your visit to Cambrai

Cambrai is straightforward to reach and easy to enjoy in a short trip. Here are the practical basics; for up-to-date timetables, opening hours and prices, always check with the operators and the tourist office before you travel.

Getting there by train

Cambrai is served by regional (TER) trains from the main stations of the Nord and the Aisne, including Lille, Douai, Valenciennes and Saint-Quentin. From Paris you will usually change at one of these stations. Timetables vary by day and season, so check the SNCF website before you set off. The station is close to the centre, within walking distance or a short bus ride.

Getting there by car

The city stands at a junction of motorways in northern France and is easily reached from Paris, Lille, Reims and Belgium via the A1, A2 and A26. Several public car parks are available near the centre; parking conditions (free or paid, time-limited) are signposted and can change, so check the town's official website for current rules.

Getting there by bus

An urban bus network serves Cambrai and several towns of the Cambrésis, with interurban lines linking the city to regional hubs such as Douai, Arras, Valenciennes and Le Cateau-Cambrésis. Fares and frequencies are available from local operators and the tourist office.

How long to stay

One day is enough to discover the historic core on foot — the belfry, the cathedral, the Grand'Place and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. A two-day weekend lets you slow down, enjoy the local food and venture out to the surrounding villages. Art lovers can add a day at the Matisse Museum in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, while those interested in military history can devote a half-day to the 1917 battlefield sites. The most pleasant season runs from spring to autumn, while winter brings the lights and Christmas markets.

Accessibility

A large part of the historic centre is accessible to people with reduced mobility, including the cathedral, the Musée des Beaux-Arts and most shops. The belfry, however, is climbed by stairs and is not wheelchair accessible. For precise accessibility information on a specific site, contact the tourist office or the venue directly. Useful numbers while in France include the European emergency line 112.

Continue your visit

• Things to see and do in Cambrai — monuments, museums and itineraries.
• History of Cambrai — from Roman Camaracum to the Battle of Cambrai 1917.
• Version française — the full French-language site.