Guide to Picardy

Picardy (la Picardie)

To the north of the Paris, an ancient province and a region comprising the départements of:
Aisne(02)
Oise (60) and
Somme (80)

Total population: 1.81 million
Principal city: Amiens
Tourist board

The name 'Picardie' applied, in the Middle Ages, to more or less the whole of the north of France: Calais and Boulogne, and even parts of Belgium, were considered 'Picard' towns. Picardy contains a large amount of rich woodlands — around a million acres. They are the vestiges of medieval royal hunting grounds, and still contain deer and wild boar. Picardy also claims the village with the shortest name — Y.

Today Picardy consists of three départements, which contain a wealth of Gothic cathedrals: Laon, Noyon, Senlis, Soissons, Beauvais (which in 1569 was the tallest building in the world … before the spire fell down through lack of counterforts) and Amiens, which is France's largest cathedral. Laon's cathedral is one of the most beautiful in France, and can be seen from far afield over a plain.

Picardy's geographic situation made it the battleground of both world wars: the Battle of the Somme lasted nearly five months; killing nearly half a million British troops. Trenches from the 1914–18 war are still preserved, notably at Albert. Other must-sees in the Somme département are the Thiepval Memorial and Péronne's Historial de la Grande Guerre — a modern yet impressive witness to the stupidity of war.

Battlegrounds, ancient or recent, are never far from view: visit, for instance, the fortified churches of the Thiérache (in the extreme east of the region, and testament to the turbulent Middle Ages, when villagers felt the need for greater protection than could be offered by the nobility. They decided to fortify their churches, thus providing refuge for the whole community … and often their livestock! In contrast, in the west of the region, in 1346, Crécy-en-Ponthieu saw the skill of Edward III's English bowmen win against Philippe VI's disorganised French cavalry in the early stages of the Hundred Year's War.

Also taking its basis in conflict (albeit the comical battles of the Astérix and Obélix, the cartoon characters by Uderzo and Goscinny), the Parc Astérix was the first French theme park, and attracts two million visitors a year. Amongst its several zones is the tonnerre de Zeus, one of the top ten rollercoasters in Europe.

The region's coastline can be measured in just tens of kilometres, but it remains unspoiled and undeveloped. It contains the parc ornithologique du Marquenterre, at the mouth of the Somme, offering some of the best bird-spotting opportunities in Europe, with egret and spoonbill amongst the specimens that can be seen. Seals can also be found along the coast.

Like Normandy, the specialities of the Somme Valley are dairy and seafood: you are not likely to miss the many restaurants offering the specialities of the region. Also from the baie de Somme is agneau de pré-salé, an origine contrôlée lamb meat whose special flavour comes from the animals grazing on salt marshes.

Aisne (02)

Population: 537,000
Principal city: Laon
Tourist board

The Aisne département lies between Flanders and Paris, and is a major producer of cereals, sugar beet and champagne. Aisne's capital, Laon, was a royal city for the Carolingians, and its cathedral is remarkable.

In the north-west of the département, St-Quentin is surrounded by canals and rivers, which attract ramblers and pleasure-boaters alike. There are some marvellous and vivid pastels by local artist Maurice-Quentin de La Tour (portraitist of Louis XV) in the museum.

The Thiérache to the north-east east is famous for Maroilles cheese. In its woodlands and gentle valleys stand many fortified churches, relics from centuries when the best refuge from war was the House of God.

South of Laon, in the centre of the département, the chemin des Dames is a memorial to the bitter fighting of World War I. At Soissons, to the west of the chemin des Dames, the Merovingian king Clovis beat the Gallo-Roman general Afranius Syagrius in 486, making the city the first post-Roman capital of France. Like many of France's great cathedrals, the cathédrale St-Gervais-et-St-Protais at Soissons was not completed as planned: it has just one western tower and the planned lantern tower was never erected. However, this does not detract from the peaceful interior. Soissons is also dominated by the façade of the former abbey of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes, which is beautifully illuminated at night. The wide and fertile Soissonnais Plateau, cut into by deep valleys, hides beautiful villages, such as Septmonts, with its extravagant castle keep.

Calm and imperious, the River Marne winds its way across the rugged landscape around Château-Thierry, home of 17th-century poet and fable-writer Jean de la Fontaine.

The Ourq waterway leads up from Paris to the Valois region, past peaceful, picturesque towns and villages like La Ferté-Milon. Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, was born in Villers-Cotterêts, and before that King François I signed an edict there in 1539 that made French the country's official language, rather than Latin. François also set up the registeration of births in each parish of the kingdom.

Oise (60)

Population: 726,000
Principal city: Beauvais
Tourist board

The département of Oise lies just outside the Paris area, and has much benefited over the ages from investment by royalty and the nobility, but is often overlooked as a tourist destination.

In 1569 the cathedral at Beauvais was the tallest building in the world … until the spire fell down through lack of counterforts. It is still an impressive example of Gothic architecture, with two very unusual clocks and a rose-window. If you go to Beauvais and visit the cathedral you may be intrigued by a tiny house nestling in the shadow of its larger neighbour. This medieval miller's house was rescued from near ruin and rebuilt for posterity by a team of dedicated conservationists.

The past isn't taken so seriously everywhere in the Oise: at Plailly, in the very south, you will find Parc Astérix. Based on the cartoon character devised by René Gosciny and Albert Uderzo, it was the first French theme park. Here Astérix and his friends do battle with the 'crazy' Romans, amidst funfair attractions including a re-creation of Astérix's village, 'Paris through the Ages' and a dolphin show.

Not far from Parc Astérix is another main attraction of the département: Chantilly and its Living Museum of the Horse, more of a ballet for horses than a museum, housed in one of the most beautiful and grandiose stables in the world.

Another town in the south to visit is Senlis, where Hugues Capet was crowned in 987. The cathedral, although modest in size, is very attractive. There is also a hunting museum in the Château Royal, drawing on a royal sport that dates back to the Middle Ages. The priory at Senlis was founded by Saint Louis, and the medieval centre is often used as a film location.

Compiègne, in the east of the département, should not be missed. Its château is its most famous attribute, but the town itself is proud and elegant, with a flamboyant town hall. Louis XV, desirous of a more down-to-earth residence than Versailles, had the existing château of Charles V enlarged and modernised. This modest building was in turn demolished by Louis XVI, who built an extremely grand palace that was subsequently refurbished by Napoléon. Napoléon III and his wife Eugénie were particularly fond of the palace, and the Emperor ordered the construction of a theatre, which, he felt, would be a fitting addition to the town.

The Imperial Theatre only officially opened in 1991, 124 years after its foundations were laid. Hidden from the outside world for more than a century lay a poignant, unfinished tribute to a long-lost ear of waltzes and crinolines. By the beginning of 1870 the theatre was entirely built; all it needed were the fittings. But that year war broke out between France and Prussia; Napoléon was captured, the Second Empire was swept away and the emperor's little gem stood, silent and empty, until the producer and director Pierre Jourdan realised the potential it offered. The décor and the acoustics of the theatre are held in wide acclaim.

It was in a railway carriage in the forest of Compiègne that the Germans signed the armistice of 1918. In return, France ignominiously surrendered to Hitler here in 1940. The original carriage in which these documents were signed was destroyed, but an identical carriage today houses a museum on the same spot.

Noyon, to the north-east of Compiègne, has some interesting Renaissance architecture, including the hôtel de ville, the musée du Noyonnais and the beautiful 16th-century pillared library. Noyon was also the birthplace of the religious reformer Jean Calvin, and his house is now a museum.

Crépy-en-Valois bears witness to a glorious and eventful past as the ancient capital of the Valois region. Inside the castle of the dukes of Valois are exhibitions on archery and religious art. The church of St-Thomas de Canterbury is partly ruined, but it still possesses its interesting 15th-century spire.

Pierrefonds is another forgotten marvel: its château is fantastic in the most literal sense. Built in the 14th century, it was pulled down by Louis XIII after a revolt. It was bought by Napoéon and restored, with a hint of licence, in the 19th century by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

See also Gerberoy, a beautiful village de caractère, where you'll find plenty of craft shops. . . and flowers: it's known locally as the 'village des roses'.

Somme (80)

Population: 548,000
Principal city: Amiens
Tourist board

Amiens is best known for its cathédrale Notre-Dame, the largest in France. Work started on it in 1220, and its 42-metre, perpendicular nave is a truly spectacular sight. The city is also remarkable for its hortillonages, market gardens that can be accessed only by boat. West of Amiens, at La Chaussée-Tirancourt, is Samara; and whilst it takes its name from the city's Gallo-Roman name it is in fact the largest archaeological park in France and has fascinating reconstructions of prehistoric life.

Down the Somme, past Abbeville and its Flamboyant Gothic église St-Vulfran, one of the more curious events of the département's calendar is the 17-kilometre race named the Transbaie de St-Valery. Attracting throusands of runners, it consists of running across the estuary of the Somme at low tide. Needless to say, water, sand and thick, sticky mud all contribute to the runners' misery, but this same mud also makes the Somme estuary particularly rich in birdlife (more than 300 species of migrating birds visit) and there are two ornithology centres, one on the D3 to Cayeux-sur-Mer and one at St-Quentin-en-Tourmont on the north of the bay. Fishing has always been the principal activity of nearby Le Crotoy: it is most notable for its sauterelliers, the boats that fish for the sauterelle, or grey shrimp. Jules Verne wrote 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea here.

World War I is evoked right across the landscape: in the surviving trenches, the monuments and carefully tended graveyards. The poignant symbol of lost lives, the poppy adds bright splashes of colour to the summer landscape. At Albert, the Vierge penchée, which overlooks the town from the gilded dome of Notre-Dame-de-Brebières basilica, was hit by German mortar fire in 1916. And the little train of the Haute-Somme once transported the soldiers to the lines.

The musée des Abris, in caves conceived as air raid shelters, presents scenes of life in the trenches in a realistic and moving manner. A corner of a foreign field no visitor can remain untouched by is the Thiepval memorial, inscribed as it is with the thousands of names of those who lost their lives in World War I and who have no known grave. The imposing arch reflects the scale of the loss. A more recent memorial to the senselessness of war is the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne, built on an island formed by the winding Somme — a strategic position on a natural frontier that has defined the history of the town. The first ramparts were erected during the 9th century, and it has been defended, besieged, captured, pillaged, burned, and bombed during both WWI and WWII. The Historial is the European museum of the Great War. Entirely trilingual (French, English and German), it offers an interpretation of the societies and mentalities at the beginning of the 20th century, to better understand the context of the First World War. Visitors should not fail to include it in any tour of the Somme region.

Battles and conflict are nothing new on the Somme, however. William the Conqueror departed for the conquest of England from St-Valery-sur-Somme — perhaps the most pivotal moment in the history of both nations, since it sowed the seeds for the Hundred Years War. In 1346, the rapid fire of the English bowmen at the Battle of Crécy won the day against the heavy French cavalry of Philippe VI. And Joan of Arc passed through St-Valery as a prisoner of the English in 1430, before being taken to jail in Rouen.