Saint-Amand-les-Eaux

Saint-Amand-les-Eaux is a town in the Nord department, in Hauts-de-France, on the river Scarpe, some 12 kilometres north-west of Valenciennes. It grew up around the abbey founded by Saint Amand in the 7th century, whose emblem survives: the 82-metre tower presiding over the Grand'Place, with a 48-bell carillon and a faience museum. A spa town with several mineral springs, it is also the headquarters of the Scarpe-Escaut Regional Natural Park, and forests and natural areas cover a large part of its territory. In sport, it hosted the 2012 French road cycling championships, and its women's basketball and handball teams have competed in the national top flight. Saint-Amand-les-Eaux has been designated European Town of Sport 2027, a title reserved for municipalities of fewer than 25,000 inhabitants, which will add it to the French representation of the ACES network.