Cities & territories

Arras and the Artois

Communauté urbaine d’Arras · Depuis 2017 · Arras and the Artois, northern France

The Timescope kiosk installed in a pedestrian street of Arras

50 000+time journeys

96 %satisfaction in 2021

4kiosks still in operation

Rich in centuries of heritage, the urban community of Arras and the Artois carries a dense local history, in what it has lived through as much as in what it has built. The challenge: start from the most visited site, the Place des Héros, lead visitors towards less accessible points of interest, and give residents a tangible sense of historical continuity.

Three places, three eras

The answer is a trail of immersive films connecting three emblematic places: the Place des Héros reconstructed in the middle of a market day in 1518, the citadel shown during its construction by Vauban in 1678, reconstructed down to his scar, and the Franco-German fraternisations of the Great War experienced inside a trench at Neuville-Saint-Vaast, alongside a corporal.

A trail built over time

The first kiosk arrived at the Fraternisations Memorial in December 2017, then the citadel on 2 August 2018, for the tenth anniversary of its UNESCO World Heritage listing, and the Place des Héros in September 2018. In September 2022, a new kiosk was added along the Scarpe river. Renewed several times since, the partnership continues today, with four kiosks in operation across the territory.

Self-service, day and night

All the kiosks are free, self-service, day and night, permanently installed in urban and rural space. "With Timescope, tourism in the Artois enters a new dimension," said Philippe Rapeneau, president of the urban community.