The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Aignan

The beautiful and strikingly modern town hall of the Mezières district. The adjacent forecourt was traffic-calmed a few years ago. There's also a drinking water fountain in the southwest corner of the square.

The Trans-Ardennes Greenway follows the old towpath along the Meuse. As you leave Lumes, you pass under the railway bridge, then the motorway, before entering quieter lands.

The Hôtel de Ville de Mézières, was rebuilt after the bombings of November 1918 and construction was completed in 1930. The facade of the building contains elements of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The interior of the Town Hall reveals a neo-Baroque decoration. In 1966, the municipality of Charleville-Mézières was created by the merger of several municipalities, making the Hôtel de Ville de Mézières the town hall of Charleville-Mézières. The town hall is located on Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, which was completely renovated and modernized between 2018 and 2020. It is an impressive building that reflects Charleville-Mézières' status as a department capital.

Sedan is a town with a great history. Also with Dutch connections. A daughter of William of Orange became the mother of two brothers here who both fought battles in the Netherlands. Marshal Turenne besieged Den Bosch in his younger years and later returned on behalf of Louis the 14th. His brother was, in addition to Prince of Sedan, governor of Maastricht for a while. There were also many contacts between the Protestants of both countries. You can find all these things in the castle and in the streets of Sedan. And that, between the restaurants, hotels and shops. The town is slowly recovering from the poverty and desolate impression of the past decades. It is becoming more and more beautiful. In addition, there are many events. The surroundings are also attractive. In short: A must-see a short distance from the Netherlands

Sedan is a historic city in the French Ardennes, located on the Meuse River. The city is known for the Château de Sedan, the largest fortified castle in Europe12. Other important sights include the Saint Charles church and the Place Turenne. Sedan has a rich history, with influences from the Counts Van der Marck and the De la Tour d’Auvergne family. From 1547 to 1642, Sedan was a principality independent of the Kingdom of France. The city was a refuge for Protestants during the Reformation and played an important role in several wars.

Towpath that is ideal for cycling. This road is used by both the Trans-Ardennes (voie verte) and the EuroVélo 19 or the Meuse route.

Here begins the Canal des Ardennes, which connects the Meuse with the Aisne and the waterways of the Seine basin; the 106 km long canal was built during the time of King Louis Philippe (second quarter of the 19th century) and has 46 locks between Pont-à-Bar and Berry-au-Bac in the southwest.

The Canal des Ardennes, also known as the Ardennes Canal, is a canal in northeastern France that connects the Meuse basin with that of the Seine. The canal is approximately 88 kilometers long. It runs entirely through the Ardennes department, between the Meuse at Pont-à-Bar and the Aisne at Vieux-lès-Asfeld. The Canal des Ardennes was built between 1823 and 1831 to create a shorter shipping route between Belgium and the Paris region. The canal has a total of 44 locks. There is a tunnel at Saint-Aignan, known as the Tunnel of Saint-Aignan. The canal has a branch to Vouziers at Semuy. The canal was built to bridge the height differences in this hilly area as easily as possible and was therefore constructed along existing rivers as much as possible. It reaches a height of 165 meters above sea level and then descends to a height of 60.55 meters at the terminus. It is an important part of the water infrastructure in this region.