Arras is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a Baroque town square, Arras is in northern France at the confluence of the rivers Scarpe and Crinchon.
The ordination of Saint Vaast
"Li congié" by Jean Bodel, a trouvère that lived in Arras in the 12th century
Arras: tapestry representing God's conversation with Noah
Arras-born lawyer and politician Maximilien de Robespierre
The Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the 8th most populous. It had a population of 1,465,278 in 2019. The Calais Passage connects to the Port of Calais on the English Channel. The Pas-de-Calais borders the departments of Nord and Somme and is connected to the English county of Kent via the Channel Tunnel.
Prefecture building of the Pas-de-Calais department, in Arras
View of the English coast, from Pas-de-Calais
The Université d'Artois' campus in Lens sits in the ancient headquarters of Compagnie des mines.
Mussel aquaculture in Wissant