Travel through the centuries | Historic towns and villages | Gothic heritage | Museums and Galleries | Performing arts

More Gothic Cathedrals than anywhere else in France - show the kids what Gothic really means!
Picardy is world famous for its magnificent Gothic heritage, both civil and religious. This is the cradle of Gothic Architecture and where it survived longest. With its Basilica and six Cathedrals, several Abbeys, churches and civil buildings, Picardy is the undisputed crème de la crème of French Gothic architecture.

Amiens Notre Dame Cathedral
Amiens’ Notre Dame Cathedral is a recognised masterpiece of Gothic architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Each summer from June to September and each year at Christmas, the “Cathedral in Colours" light display lets people experience how it must have felt, centuries ago, to look up at these grand structures. During recent restoration work on Amiens’ Gothic Cathedral, traces of the original medieval paint were found. At the time of its building, this world heritage site would have been vibrantly painted to display the different stories central to the Christian faith, as most of the worshipers could neither read nor write. Today, the original colours are brought back to life by use of computer generated light projection. It’s fabulous to see, and it’s free.

Beauvais Saint Pierre Cathedral
The church was a central pillar in the building of Beauvais, and nothing demonstrates this more so than the immense St Peter's Cathedral. Building began in 1225, and its imposing dimensions reveal Beauvais as one of the most important Middle Ages towns in France.
Two exceptional clocks can be seen inside the Cathedral; a Medieval Clock dating from the 14th century originally designed to signal religious services. It is probably the oldest chiming clock still in working order. The astronomical clock is a fine example of the clock making techniques of the late 19th century. It has over 90,000 moving parts. Over 12 metres high and 6 metres wide, it is set in a Roman-Bizantine style case. The façade has 52 dials showing the position of the planets sunrise and sunset, the phases of the moon, the tides, etc. At each hourly bell, 68 automats at the top of the clock re-enact a scene from the last judgement.

Ruskin and the Picardy Cathedrals
The eminent 19th century English artist and critic, John Ruskin, travelled frequently to France and had a passionate interest in the Gothic architecture of Picardy and Normandy.
It is largely thanks to Ruskin that Amiens Cathedral and French Gothic architecture as a whole are so widely recognised and admired.
This Victorian professor of fine arts fell in love with the Cathedrals of Amiens and Abbeville and other gothic masterpieces of the region. Ruskin is the most passionate writer about Amiens and its cathedral, to which he devoted his last major work, The Bible of Amiens (1884), subsequently translated by Marcel Proust in 1904. Ruskin also sketched many aspects of Amiens cathedral as well as the town in the 19th century. Ruskin’s admiration of Amiens Cathedral is vindicated in that it is now classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. You'll find more information on Ruskin's work on the University of Lancaster website