Taxi Lille → Charleville-Mézières

Charleville-Mézières is the prefecture of the Ardennes, a twin city born from the merger of two rival towns on the banks of the Meuse. Charleville, founded in 1606 by Charles de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers, centres on the Place Ducale, one of France's most beautiful squares — a perfect rectangle bordered by arcades in ochre brick and pale stone, contemporary with and twin to the Place des Vosges in Paris. Mézières, older, is a town fortified by Vauban whose massive ramparts dominate a meander of the Meuse. But Charleville-Mézières is above all known worldwide for two reasons: Arthur Rimbaud, the prodigy poet, was born here in 1854 and grew up here — the Rimbaud Museum, housed in a 17th-century mill on the banks of the Meuse, traces the life and blazing work of the author of The Drunken Boat and Illuminations; and the World Festival of Puppet Theatres, a unique event held every two years (odd years) in September, attracting 150,000 spectators from around the world. The city also houses the International Puppet Institute and ESNAM (National School of Puppet Arts), making Charleville-Mézières the true world capital of this art form. The surrounding Ardennes offer spectacular natural landscapes: the Meuse valley, deep forests, the legends of the Four Sons of Aymon and the Fortress of Sedan, the largest castle in Europe.