The central square of Bastogne is named for General Anthony McAuliffe, the American commander whose one-word reply — "Nuts!" — to a German surrender demand became one of the most celebrated moments of the Battle of the Bulge. A Sherman tank stands at the centre of the square as a permanent monument, and a statue of McAuliffe himself looks over the space. The square is ringed with cafes and restaurants and is the social heart of the town.
The surrounding streets preserve a mix of postwar rebuilding and older Ardennes architecture. Much of Bastogne was destroyed during the siege and the fighting that followed, so the town you walk through is largely mid-20th century in character — which gives it an unexpected coherence. The nearby church of Saints Peter and Paul survived the war and contains stained glass windows commemorating the American units that liberated the town.