Where is Cambrai?

A city in the Nord department of northern France, on the river Escaut, roughly halfway between Paris and the Belgian border.

Page published 20 September 2026. For up-to-date timetables and prices, please check with the operators and the tourist office.

The short answer

Cambrai is in northern France. It belongs to the Nord department (number 59) in the Hauts-de-France region, and it stands on the banks of the river Escaut — the river known in English and Dutch as the Scheldt, which continues north through Belgium to Antwerp and the sea. By road it lies roughly 170 km from Paris, reached via the A1 and then the A2 motorways. Cambrai is the main town of the Cambrésis, the gently rolling farming district that surrounds it, and it has about 33,000 inhabitants, with some 60,000 in the wider urban area.

If you have arrived here after reading about the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, this is the same place: the town gave its name to that battle, which was fought in the countryside around it.

The UNESCO-listed belfry of Cambrai rising above the Grand'Place — The belfry of Cambrai, the landmark that orients visitors in the old town.

Cambrai on the map of France

Picture the far north of France, above Paris and below the Belgian border: that band of country is the Hauts-de-France region, and Cambrai sits in its eastern half. The department it belongs to, the Nord, runs along the Belgian frontier and has Lille as its capital. Cambrai is inland, away from the coast, in open agricultural country rather than in the old mining or textile belts that people often associate with the region.

Its position is not an accident of modern administration. The town began as the Roman settlement of Camaracum, which grew up where Roman roads met on the routes towards Bavay, Arras and Reims. For two thousand years it has been a crossing point between the North Sea lands and the interior of France, and that is still legible in the motorways and rail lines that converge on it today.

A note on spelling, because it trips people up: the French name is Cambrai, pronounced roughly "cahm-BRAY", with a silent final i. Older English and Flemish texts sometimes write Cambray, and the Dutch name for the city is Kamerijk. They all refer to the same place.

How far is Cambrai from other cities?

Cambrai is well placed for a day trip or a stop on a longer journey. These are the neighbours that matter most to a visitor:

Paris — about 170 km by road, via the A1 then the A2 to the "Cambrai" exit. By train you will normally change at a main northern station.
Lille — the regional capital, to the north-west, with direct regional (TER) trains to Cambrai.
Douai, Arras and Valenciennes — the nearest large towns, all served by regional trains and interurban bus lines from Cambrai.
Le Cateau-Cambrésis — about 28 km away, and the reason many visitors come: it holds the Matisse Museum, one of the most important Matisse collections in France.
Belgium — close enough to combine in one trip; the motorway network links Cambrai to the Belgian border and on towards Brussels.

How to get to Cambrai

Cambrai is straightforward to reach. Below is the short version; our practical guide to planning your visit covers parking, opening seasons, accessibility and where to stay in more detail.

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 travel to one of these stations and change there. 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.

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 serve the centre; conditions (free or paid, time-limited) are signposted and change from time to time, so check locally before you leave the car.

By bus and by bike

An urban bus network serves Cambrai and several towns of the Cambrésis, with interurban lines to Douai, Arras, Valenciennes and Le Cateau-Cambrésis. Cyclists will find cycle paths in town and a greenway laid out along former railway lines, which reaches the neighbouring villages away from traffic.

What Cambrai is known for

Knowing where a place is only matters if there is a reason to go. Cambrai's compact historic centre holds a belfry listed by UNESCO, the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce cathedral with the tomb of the writer-archbishop Fénelon, a Musée des Beaux-Arts famous for its 17th-century relief map of the city, and the Porte de Paris with the remains of the old fortifications. It is also the home of the Bêtise de Cambrai, a pulled-sugar mint sweet striped with caramel that is the city's best-known export, and the setting of the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, the first massed tank attack in history, whose memorials and cemeteries are scattered through the surrounding countryside.

One day is enough for the historic core on foot; a weekend lets you add the food, the museums and the country around the town.

Continue your visit

Visit Cambrai — the English guide to the city, in brief.
Things to see and do in Cambrai — monuments, museums and a one-day itinerary.
History of Cambrai — from Roman Camaracum to the Battle of Cambrai 1917.
Plan your visit — getting there, how long to stay, accessibility.