Northern STAR

Just over an hour from Paris, France’s ‘Venice of the north’ Amiens is the perfect destination for a day trip, finds Vicky Leigh

- Vicky Leigh

The short train journey from Paris is the first of many things that make Amiens so appealing as a day trip destination, as you’ll soon discover when you arrive just over an hour after leaving the French capital. The more time you have to make the most of everything the capital of the Somme département has to offer, the better, especially when it comes to seeing and eating what the city is most famous for, from record-breaking architecture and floating gardens to a biscuit with a presidential connection.

History and culture

Amiens’ Cathédrale NotreDame is the largest Gothic church in France and is twice the size of Notre-Dame in Paris. Constructed in record time for the 13th century – the shell was completed in 68 years – it features an impressive 750 statues on the exterior, which is illuminated in summer and from 24 November to 31 December when the spectacular Chroma light show is projected onto the cathedral’s grand façade. Fortunately, the cathedral escaped serious damage during the two World Wars and was added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 1981.