Amiens (Somme), Framce

Amiens is located in North of France. It is the capital city of the Somme département. It is considered the Picarde capital of France. 

Amiens is a city with a strong historical tradition and one of the main attractions is the ancient cathedral of Notre Dame. This is the biggest Gothic building in France and was completed within a very short time scale, unlike most churches, making it unique and of huge architectural interest because of the period features which all date from a short interval in history. The cathedral has been described as the 'parthenon of Gothic architecture'.Another area of great interest to the visitor to Amiens is the old quarter of St Lieu. This once formed the centre of the textile industry in the area.  It was built in the Flemish style and is situated to the north of the cathedral. it is best reached by Rue de Metz L'Evêque and Place du Don where the city's oldest houses are distinguished by their gables. Here you will find old cobbled streets lined with pretty colombage houses and a collection of Dutch and Flemish style cottages. One of the most interesting areas of Amiens is the Hortillonages, a vast area of market gardens created on small islands on the marshlands at the edge of the town. The Romans were the first to drain the marshes and plant produce here. They are all connected by artificial canals and total 741 acres in all. For two millennia until the last century, this area provided the city with its vegetables, the produce being taken by canal to St-Leu and sold from the boats, rather like the floating markets of Bangkok. Some of the farmers still take their produce to the city by boat for the market held on Saturday morning 'le marché sur l'eau', located on the river bank of place Parmentier.