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Discover Amiens’ heritage
 

OVER THE CENTURIES, AMIENS HAS AFFIRMED ITS AVANT-GARDE CHARACTER WHILE REMAINING ATTACHED TO ITS FABULOUS HERITAGE. DRAWING ON THE PAST TO BUILD THE FUTURE IS ITS PHILOSOPHY. THIS IS WHAT GIVES IT ITS RICHNESS, ITS DEPTH AND ITS ORIGINALITY.

Quartier Saint-Leu

SAINT-LEU DISTRICT

The historic heart of Amiens, once known as the Little Venice of the North, is a picturesque district with its colourful traditional houses, its craftsmen, its bars and restaurants whose facades are reflected in the water of the canals. It is also the district of the students and the night owls.

Tour Perret Tour Perret - © L.Rousselin

Tour Perret -
Place Alphonse Fiquet 

At the time (1949), this tower was an achievement in the use of reinforced concrete. It was the first French concrete building over 100 metres high. When it was built, it was considered the "first French skyscraper". Initially 104 metres high and 30 floors, it was raised to 110 metres at the beginning of the 21st century.  It was also equipped with an "hourglass of light" in 2005. It was for a long time the highest skyscraper in Western Europe...

Logis du Roi & Maison du Sagittaire

Square Jules Boquet 

The Logis du Roi (King’s Residence) 
This is a brick and stone building from the early 16th century, with a polygonal tower housing a spiral staircase. It takes its name from the stay of Louis XIII. It is in the flamboyant gothic style. It is the property of the University of Picardy Jules Verne.

Maison du Sagittaire
This 16th-century house was once a shop. Located in the rue des Vergeaux near the present-day post office, it was destroyed during the German bombing of 19 May 1940. After the war, the facade was dismantled stone by stone and erected in front of a new building next to the Logis du Roi.

 

Palais de JusticePalais de Justice - © S.Crampon

Palais de Justice - Square Jules Boquet 

The Palais de Justice was built in two campaigns: from 1864 to 1868 and from 1874 to 1880, directed by the architects Jean Herbault and Natalis Daullé, then by Jacques Hittorff. It was the first building in France designed exclusively for the function of a courthouse. All levels of territorial jurisdiction were brought together in one place. The imposing brick and stone building is in the neoclassical style. The sculptures on the pediment represent Justice and the statues at the top of the entrance staircase represent Demosthenes, Cicero, Law and Force.

Maison du Baillage

Maison du Bailliage 
Rue de la Malmaison

The present building, built in 1541, was the seat of royal justice until the French Revolution. The Bailliage of Amiens, created by King Philippe Auguste in 1193, was one of the oldest and most important in the Kingdom. The building was destroyed by German bombing on 19 May 1940, only the façade remains.

Hôtel Bouctot-VagniezHôtel Bouctot-Vagniez - © L.Rousselin

Hôtel Bouctot-Vagniez
Rue des Otages 

The Bouctôt-Vagniez mansion is typical of the Art Nouveau style. It was commissioned by a young couple: André Bouctôt, an investor, and Marie-Louise Vagniez, a descendant of a textile family from Amiens.
The construction lasted from 1909 to 1911 and cost about one million gold francs. In 2018, the CCI Picardie sold the Bouctot-Vagniez hotel and its extension to the Compagnie de Phalsbourg, which plans to transform it into a luxury hotel.

Hôtel de Berny

Hôtel de Berny 
Rue Victor Hugo 

Built between 1633 and 1634 for the Treasurers of France of the Generalitat of Picardy, the Hôtel de Berny is in the Louis XIII style, i.e. built in brick and stone, with a large main building and two pavilions. The museum was created thanks to a bequest made to the town in 1957 by Gérard de Berny, former senator of the Somme, so that it could open a museum on the art and history of the region to the public.
This monument is currently being restored...

Parks and gardens

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