_To reach the Cemetery, take the Rue des Pyramides, on the right of the Church, then the Rue des Postes, go through the Porte des Postes and follow the Rue du Faubourg des Postes to the cemetery. Return to the Porte des Postes, taking on the right the Boulevard Victor Hugo which leads back to the crossing of the Rue Solférino and the Boulevard des Écoles (see Itinerary, p. 36)._ _If preferred, the tourist can go direct from Philippe le Bon Square to the Douai Gate, via the Rue Solférino (continued by the Rue de Douai), passing between the University and St. Michael's Church._ [Sidenote: _See itinerary, p. 36_] [Illustration: CRATER CAUSED BY THE EXPLOSION] _=The "Dix-huit Ponts"= (see p. 22)_ On reaching the Rue de Douai, the cracked walls of the houses, many of them roofless, which were damaged by the =Explosion= of the =German Ammunition Depot= known as the "Dix-huit Ponts," come into view. The tourist will get a closer view of them as he proceeds. _At the Douai Gate, take the Boulevard de Belfort on the left_, which leads to the scene of the catastrophe. The =crater= is still plainly distinguishable, although its sides are no longer sharp, and grass is springing up everywhere. _Climb to the highest point of the fortifications above the crater, to get a good view of this moving scene._ [Illustration: SPINNING MILL DESTROYED BY THE EXPLOSION] To the right and left extends the regular and picturesque line of the Vauban fortifications, the red brick walls standing out well against the green of the grass-covered slopes. In the nearest walls are large crevices, while below, the tourist sees the crater strewn with rubbish and portions of the vaulting. In front, the wrecked spinning-mills, of which only the chimneys remain standing, and the devastated streets (Rue de Ronchin, Rue de Trévise, etc.), form impressive silhouettes. [Illustration: THE RUE DE RONCHIN] _Return to the Douai Gate_, in front of which traces on the ground mark the site of a block of buildings burnt down by the Germans in October, 1914, when they entered the town. _Take again the Rue de Douai, then the Boulevard des Écoles, following the latter to the Rue and Porte de Paris._ _To the right of the Rue de Paris, in the Boulevard Louis XIV, are the =School of Arts and Craft= and the =Pasteur Institute=._ [Illustration: THE RUE DE RONCHIN] [Sidenote: _See itinerary, p. 36_] [Illustration] The Paris Gate This gate was built in 1685-1695 from the plans of a local architect (Simon Vollant), to commemorate the return of Lille to France (1667). It was completely restored in 1895. The demolition of the old line of fortifications left this gate isolated in the middle of the town, and it was to ornament and finish off those portions which adjoined the ramparts that additions in the same style were then made. The whole forms a Monumental Gate and Triumphal Arch.