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Destinations and circuits > FRANCE > Somme-Picardy
 
 

Somme-Picardy

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Welcome in the Picardy.

Canal de la Somme, Canal de St. Quentin as well as the Canal du Nord: Take a trip on our Pénichettes to discover these waterways. Your cruise will take you to Amiens with its cathedral, listed as world heritage by the UNESCO and also to the "hortillonages", the swimming gardens, which are a curiosity of the Picardie. Hire your license free Pénichette and drive from Péronne up to St. Valéry-sur-Somme, close to the Bay of Somme.

 

Select on the map below your base of departure from which you want to start your trip with the Pénichette. You will receive practical information to organise your boating holiday in the Picardie starting from our bases in Cappy or St. Valéry.

Battlefields of World War I


Today the peaceful green countryside of the Somme leaves it hard to imagine the violence of the combats of the First World War. The British and French troops stopped the German advance on the Somme front line. Less known, yet essential for the continuing war campaign was the commitment of the Commonwealth troops. The volunteer soldiers that came from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa assume a special place.

 

The ANZAC forces landed in 1916 and led essential combats until the end of WW1. Many are those that have a parent buried in the Somme. Monuments and museums testifying this campaign : the Franco-Australian Museum (Villers-Bretonneux), the Franco-British Memorial (Thiepval), the Newfoundland Memorial Park (Beaumont-Hamel), etc..

 

To better understand these events visit the museum l’Historial de la Grande Guerre at Peronne. The "other ANZAC Day" is commemorated at Villers-Bretonneux every year on the 25th April.

NOT TO MISS

Amiens and its cathedrale

sheer perfection, and the ambitious scale it was designed to makes it the largest cathedral in France. Listed as an UNESCO World Heritage monument, with its superb sculptures it bedazzles the senses, particularly on a summer evening when a magical Son et Lumiere show recreates its now-vanished rich medieval paintwork.

 

Before memories fade:

the Somme was the backdrop to some of the most terrible fighting in the First World War. There are many spots which honour the memory of those who died, and in particular, close to the Somme canal, Peronne with its museum of the Great War, Froissy, Le Hamel and Villers-Bretonneux.

 

Samara

this archaeological theme park, covering some 30 hectares, shows you how men have lived and worked over the last 6000 years. Its walking trails are a good introduction to the natural environment of the Valley of the Somme.

 

The Hortillonnage

Don't on any account miss this unique aspect of Picardy’s capital, a patchwork of some 300 hectares of island vegetable and flower gardens alongside the Canal de la Somme just outside Amiens. These gardens, surrounded by reeds, bullrushes and waterlilies in a labyrinth of little canals or “rieux” can be visited aboard a traditional working boat.

 

Further information on
www.somme-tourisme.com

Bay of Somme-Picardy

Cappy

Somme, Canal de la Somme, Canal de Saint Quentin, Canal du Nord



Very soon after leaving Cappy , past the first lock and lifting bridge, the Canal de la Somme reveals its pristine nature, its silence only interrupted by the sound of birds on the banks and in the many ponds nearby. On then to Amiens and its "hortillonages" , delightful riverside smallholdings, first established by the Romans to provide well-watered gardens.

 

Amiens with its superb cathedral is one of France's oldest towns. In 54BC Julius Caesar set up his winter camp of Samarobriva there, now the site of Samara Park with a display on the history of mankind from prehistory up to the Gallo-Roman period. From the Middle Ages, the town has been closely linked with its river, and Louis XI called it "the little Venice of the North" . The scene in the maze of ancient streets, typical colourwashed houses, shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs is truly picturesque . Here every Saturday morning is held a colourful floating market where the smallholders come to sell their produce.

 

At Abbeville the church of Saint-Vulfran is a masterpiece of flamboyant gothic art. Saint-Valéry, a town full of art and history, was founded by an Irish monk who came over to convert the pagan Picardians. This was the port from which William the Conqueror launched his invasion of England. The charm of the place lies in its old town, with its fortified walls, and all the activity centred on the channel up to the port with all its stalls and restaurants.

Take advantage of a halt here and moor up. Further south, wilderness takes over and the vast landscapes of the Somme estuary make a walk here truly memorable.

 

In the opposite direction from Cappy, another cruise lets you discover St Quentin , where Picardy shows Flemish influences, with its tall and narrow town houses, Ham with its lovely church of Notre Dame, and Noyon, the town which saw the anointing of Charlemagne and of Hugues Capet. Picardy is the cradle of Gothic art and boasts superb abbeys and cathedrals as well as other significant medieval remains, its towns having rivalled one another ever since the 12th century in building the finest religious monuments.

 

The following boats are available in Picardy: