Charleville-Mézières

A new town created by Duke Charles de Gonzague in the early 17th century, Charleville, in the Ardennes, was designed in a single architectural plan, with at its heart the Place Ducale, lined with arcades and pink brick and limestone façades in the same spirit as the Place des Vosges in Paris.

Merged with Mézières in 1966, the town is also known as the birthplace of the poet Arthur Rimbaud, whose museum traces his turbulent life. Every September it hosts the World Festival of Puppet Theatres, one of the largest in the world, which fills the streets and squares of the whole town.

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