​​​ Lost Paradises Travels - Europe  

​FRANCE - Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, 120 km (75 mi) north of Paris and 100 km (62 mi) south-west of Lille. Amiens is famous for its Cathedral, listed by Unesco. Proof of real technical genius, the Notre-Dame d'Amiens cathedral demonstrates architectural harmony. Built from 1220 to 1288, its size makes it one of the biggest Gothic buildings ever built: 145 m long and 42 m high. Its indoor and outdoor statuary is just as remarkable as its architecture.St-Leu is a part of the old city with many older wooden and brick houses and several canals. It was a poor part of town, but since extensive renovation in the 1990s it has become popular with tourists and students as a pretty area with a high concentration of cafés and restaurants.

Amiens is also known for the "hortillonnages", gardens on small islands in the marshland between the River Somme and River Avre, surrounded by a grid network of man-made canals. They are also known as the "floating gardens of Amiens".