Amiens and the Somme river

By accessing this site, cookies are placed on your browser. Some are mandatory but you are in a position to check or uncheck some of them. In order to be able to access to the whole of functionalities’s our web site, we advise you to keep the activating of different categories of cookies.

AllowSettingsDecline

Close

When you browse this website, cookies are placed on your browser. Your consent is required for some of them. Click on each category of cookies to enable or disable them. To enjoy all the features of our website (sharing articles on social networks, advertising pertaining to your interests, improving the website with browsing statistics, etc.), we recommend leaving the different categories of cookies enabled.

Operating cookies (mandatory) On

Those cookies assure the smooth operation’s web site and allow its optimization. The web site can’t work without those cookies. Some of those are placed for the display and the counting of publicities.

Cancelled

300hectares of 'hortillonnages' (marsh gardens)
4locks in the urban area
116thousand visitors to the 'hortillonnages' with the APSSEH

The river Somme

BACKBONE

They say the river Somme is the backbone of the department, crossing it from east to west. This could also apply to the city of Amiens. The majestic river is the spine of the city, irrigating its different districts.
Along the Quai Bélu, it flows past the terraces of restaurants in the Saint Leu district. In the Hortillonnages it transports market gardeners and tourists in their boats, surrounding the plots of fertile soil and creating a multitude of little islets.
At the Saint Ladre lakes, the river becomes a marsh, home to an extraordinarily rich eco-system.
Along the banks of the Saint Maurice district, in Saint Pierre Park at Dreuil, it borders the tow path, a paradise for joggers and roller-bladers.

See the map of the Somme Valley cycle route

©SommeTourisme

©Nicolas Bryant

hortillonnages, barque, vue cathédrale Somme

©Nicolas Bryant

Outings on the river

ALL ABOARD

At the Café 'Au Fil de l’Eau' you can hire little cruise boats for a full or half day.
In the Hortillonnages, you can take a trip on one of the 'barques à cornet' (boats with one raised pointed end) with commentary from the boatman.
Or you may care to hire an electric boat and discover the artistic creations to be found on different islands , as part of the 'Art, Villes et Paysage' Festival.
An alternative could be a kayak trip down the river Avre (a tributary of the Somme) finishing up at the heart of the Hortillonnages.
There is even some extraordinary accommodation - unusual properties where you can stay in the middle of this unspoilt and truly exceptional setting at the very heart of the city.

Trip in a 'barque à cornet' through the Hortillonnages – Tel. : 03 22 92 12 18
'Art, Villes et Paysage' Festival – Tel. : 06 74 88 38 58
Café 'Au Fil de l’Eau' – Tel. : 03 22 91 43 22

Our selection of boat trips !

In the heart of the city: a feast of blues and greens. A breath of fresh air!

©Alba Bayès

©Julie Guérin

©Ronan Le Bideau

River cruise

LIFE ON THE RIVER

Amiens is also home to the maritime and river authorities which control boating on the river.
Lock keepers help amateur sailors throughout their trip along the river by opening/closing the different locks.
River/sea authority – Tel.: 06 74 83 60 69

Let's talk ToJean-Louis CHRISTEN

ORGANIC MARKET GARDENER

“I'm very keen on getting people to try some of the forgotten vegetables, the ones our forebears used to eat but which have gradually disappeared from our plates. I now grow marrows, parsnips and common purslane (a type of lettuce rich in omega 3)."