An unmissable stop on the Remembrance Trail, visit the underground Caverne du Dragon
© CRT Picardie/ H Sterkendries
This strategic vantage point on the Chemin des Dames allows some poignant reflection
© CRT Picardie / G Crochez
Thousands of soldiers of all social classes lived in this spot for four years, in cold and in fear and yet demonstrating a touching sense of fraternity. This was even known to extend to enemy soldiers, who sometimes exchanged food and cigarettes, chatted together from their respective trenches, and upheld tacit non-aggression pacts.
Indeed, from July to October 1917, French and German soldiers lived side-by-side in the subterranean medieval quarry of La Caverne du Dragon at Oulches-la-Vallée-Foulon. Fascinating remnants of soldiers’ daily lives can still be during tours of La Caverne, which forms part of the Musée du Chemin des Dames. Meanwhile, the original site of Craonne is now an arboretum; there's a six-kilometre walking circuit with panels to help you make out the last vestiges of streets, the church and the cemetery.
Pratical Information
Pratical Information