Welcome to Amiens

At 8 a.m. last sunday, during breakfast time, I was wondering what I could do when the idea arose to me : I would go to Amiens.

After 2 hours of road from Paris I decided to start the day by visiting the Jules Verne museum, it is very affordable. The "House with the Tower" in Amiens, where Jules Verne lived from 1882 to 1900, offers us a space where the imaginary world and the daily life of the famous writer mix. This luxury 19th century mansion house witnessed the success of the writer, who wrote most of his "Extraordinary Voyages" there.

Following the drive and the visit of the museum we decided to have a break. Next to the cathedral is a delicious brasserie L'HATTAFAYA, I recommend a tapenade dish to be divided into starters for only 3€50. From the terrace I had a fantastic view over Notre-Dame d'Amiens. Proof of real technical genius, the cathedral demonstrates architectural harmony. Its indoor and outdoor statuary is just as remarkable as its architecture. Since it was restored, the polychromy of its Gothic doors has become a main reference.

Finally,I surrendered the most spectacular site of Amiens : the Hortillonnages. I discovered them in a special boat known as “barque à cornet”. The hortillonages cover 300 hectares. They are interlaced with 65km of small canals, known as “rieux” in the local dialect. The weather was picking up and the first appearance of the sun made us feel like enjoying ! Lets go there before the opening, otherwise, man can easily wait for 2 hours during the WE in summertime...