Arques-La-Bataille can be explored through specific themes: the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, historic buildings, rivers and places to go for a walk. There is also the Avenue Verte and a path to the ruins of Château d’Arques. This combination helps you decide what to focus on during your stay—architectural history, landscape or a route for different types of travel.
The Church and the Town’s History
The Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption has a rare Renaissance rood screen made of white stone. A rood screen separates the choir from the rest of the church; here, a specific function, Renaissance craftsmanship and white stone come together. The apse windows also offer a distinct perspective on the building’s history: some contain stained glass dating from the 16th century, and the glazing was later restored. The dating therefore applies to some of the apse windows, not all of them equally.
On 21 September 1589, Henri IV won the Battle of Arques. The former royal bailliage is the only bailliage in Haute-Normandie to remain fully intact. The main building of the Manoir d’Archelles dates from the second half of the 16th century. The Commonwealth military cemetery contains 311 graves. Together, these places and details offer different ways to explore the town’s history: architectural history, a precisely dated event and a memorial site with a stated number of graves.
Rivers, Ponds and Forest
In Arques-La-Bataille, the Varenne, BĂ©thune and Eaulne rivers meet to form the 7 km-long Arques. It flows into the English Channel via the port of Dieppe. This describes the course from the confluence of the three named rivers to the sea; the 7 km length refers to the Arques. The fishing ponds scattered throughout the commune lie on the valley floor and offer places for walks.
The Forêt d’Arques on the Plateau d’Aliermont presents the landscape on a different scale. It covers nearly 1,000 hectares and is a high forest of beech and oak, with a few conifers. The ponds on the valley floor and the forest on the plateau offer two distinct points of reference when including the local landscape in your travel plans: at the ponds, walks are the main attraction; in the forest, its size and tree cover take centre stage.
Routes and Planning Your Visit
The Avenue Verte was extended to Arques-La-Bataille in 2008 and follows the route of a former railway line. Between Dieppe and Forges-les-Eaux, it is free to use for pedestrians, inline skaters, cyclists, horse riders and people with reduced mobility. The listed user groups give you a practical basis for checking whether the route suits your planned mode of travel.
A path leads gently uphill from the town’s car park to the ruins of Château d’Arques. The two route descriptions provide different planning details: for the Avenue Verte, the route and user groups are specified; for the path to the château, the starting point and gentle ascent are given. Since path conditions can change, check the current situation for the route you plan to use before setting off.
Discover more destinations: Sierville, Rosay, Octeville-Sur-Mer, Saint-Saëns, Notre-Dame-De-Gravenchon, Préaux, Yport, Sainte-Beuve-En-Rivière
For an overview of the wider area: Seine-Maritime.
