Amiens Things to Do

OK it's not a fun thing to do but visiting the war memorials in the area is a thing we do each time we visit the area. The one at Thiepaval is amazing. It has 16 columns and has over 70,000 names of British soldiers lost and whose bodies were never found in the first world war. A recent visitor centre has been opened here. Many school children come here lookng for names of relatives. It is certainly very thought provoking!

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Quasimodo would be lost here, this Notre Dame is twice as large as it Parisienne namesake
building started in 1220, currently this magnificent cathedral is undergoing restoration work its proportions are epic, 145 metres long and 70 metres wide, inside it is filled with light and the soaring pillars make it seem even larger than it is

the carved wooden choir stalls have over 4.000 figures religeous scenes and scenes from daily life in medieval times. and the tombs and statues are interesting and well preserved

given that Amiens was heavily bombed during WWII it is amazing that this cathedral survived so well, the cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is open every day, guided tours are available

Amiens cathedral was completed around 1289 and is of gothic style. More than half of Amiens was damaged during World War 2 but the 13th century cathedral escaped war miraculously. Listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, Notre Dame is the largest gothic monument of France

Most of Amiens was destroyed during the WWI. The project for the reconstruction of the station neighbourhood included a slender tower of 105 m which was the tallest residential builiding in Europe when it was built.

Initially, the tower was not very loved by the Amiénois, but in the meantine it has become a part of the skyline. This picture shows the Perret Tower in the background.

Yes there is.
It is small one not that far from the city center.
I knew they didn't had a large collection of
animals and that they aren't specialized
in anything.
They got no aquarium , no giraffes , no rhino...
But lets concentrate on what they do have.

For starters , the parc is like really beautiful ,
a green setting , lots of water. Everything looks
kind of wild. The entrance fee is really low.
And if it come animals there is a good mixture
of must sees.

Elephants , a red pande , pinguins , a lot of ducks ,
a few nice islands at the entrance with a
couple of gibbons , and and.....

Go and see this little nice zoo ,
when your with kids it is the perfect afternoon
out.

It was strange to see this display.
It even looked a little futuristic....

But it isn't. Actually this thing is the main reason
why the cathedral is build. It is a piece of the
skull of 'Saint John the baptist'.
Crusaders took this relic back home.

This important relic would attract lots of pilgrims
and they had to build a suitable building
to have this. Also important was that
all the area's surrounding Amiens already had
impressive churches.

It all started in the year 1220.
At that moment the building of the cathedral
took a start. This cathedral would soon be
the largest in France.

It took 50 year to build 'Notre-Dame'.
The cathedral is a highlight in Gothic
architecture

An interesting website to look at
this church , that is UNESCO world heritage now.


What might be interesting when you got the
time is to rent some audio guide in the
back of the church. It is available in different
languages.

This really is a marvellous building. It was built in a very short period (I think about 50-70 years), and still stands as one of the biggest cathedrals in Europe.
Well, inside you can take a look at the fantastic wooden stalls, depicting all kinds of biblical scenes; next to the stalls there are these painted sculptings that come from the 14th Century; quite amazing...
Outside, just take a look at the building! The gargouilles are great, the facade is white (just redone, I think) and there are other nice old buildings around it.
And in summer (this is a great tip) check out the colours they put on the statues and the cathedral at dusk! It's the same as it was supposed to have been in the Middle Ages (which seemed to me like a very colourful time).