Le chemin des dames: The Ladies' Path

The view over the Chemin des Dames, in Laon

From a laid-out platform of Laon, you enjoy a clear view over the town and the surroundings, up to the Chemin des Dames. The Laon audio-guided tour stops here, with respect, to evoke this panorama and the memory of this high place of the First World War.

The panorama and the memory of 1917

This small laid-out platform allows to enjoy a pretty clear view over the town and the surroundings. In the distance is outlined the Chemin des Dames, this plateau that extends not far from Laon and whose name remains forever associated with one of the most tragic episodes of the First World War. This ridge, a strategic position dominating the valleys, was the theatre, in the spring of 1917, of a terrible offensive during which tens of thousands of soldiers met their death, in fighting of an unheard-of violence and often in vain. The Chemin des Dames has become a major place of memory, symbol of the sufferings and the sacrifice of a whole generation, where memorials, cemeteries and vestiges recall this drama with gravity. From this viewpoint, you measure the situation of Laon, in the heart of a region profoundly marked by the two world wars. The gaze cast towards this horizon invites to contemplation and to remembrance. A belvedere over the town and the plain, and a window onto a high place of memory, the view over the Chemin des Dames is discovered with respect.

What to see

Here you enjoy, from a laid-out platform, a clear view over the town and the surroundings, up to the Chemin des Dames that is outlined in the distance, this plateau whose name is associated with one of the most tragic offensives of the First World War, in the spring of 1917, become a major place of memory that you evoke with gravity and contemplation. The view over the Chemin des Dames is a belvedere and a window onto the memory in Laon. It is a stop to be discovered with respect.

Practical information

The platform offering the view over the Chemin des Dames lies in the upper town of Laon, reachable on foot. It is an open-air viewpoint, freely accessible. The Chemin des Dames itself, a place of memory with its memorials and cemeteries, is located not far from the town and is visited with respect for the contemplation due to the place.

What is the Chemin des Dames, visible from Laon?

A plateau that extends not far from Laon, whose name remains associated with one of the most tragic episodes of the First World War: in the spring of 1917, this strategic ridge was the theatre of a terrible offensive where tens of thousands of soldiers met their death; it is today a major place of memory.

Where is the view over the Chemin des Dames in Laon?

From a laid-out platform of the upper town of Laon, in France.