Every year in September Picardy’s stunning Gothic Cathedrals and Abbey Churches set the scene for one of France’s top musical events – the Festival des Cathédrales.

Picardy is par excellence the land of Cathedrals, birthplace of Gothic architecture. These number one Gothic Basilica and six Gothic Cathedrals (including Notre Dame d’Amiens which is a World Heritage Site).

The venue changes every night, providing a novel circuit around these fabulous buildings which time has failed to efface and around the beautiful, historic towns which they oversee.

The programme is varied, involving a number of guest orchestras and choirs. Wherever you go, acoustics are superb.

The Imperial Theatre in Compiègne

The Imperial Theatre was built at the request of Napoleon III in the 19th century. Its outstanding acoustics, aided by its almost exclusively wood construction, creates an incredible experience for opera and music lovers.

Chès Cabotans d'Amiens
31 rue Edouard David, 80000 Amiens
Tel: 00 333 22 22 30 90

This puppet theatre illustrates the grand tradition of puppetry in Amiens. The most famous puppets are Lafleur, whose motto is “eat well, drink well and do nothing” and his long suffering fiancee Sandrine. Highly reminiscent of Punch and Judy, you don't need to understand the unique Picard dialect to enjoy these little farces.

Cirque Jules Verne
Place Longueville, 80000 Amiens
Tel: 00 333 22 35 40 41

It is rare for a circus to have its permanent residence in a building. This fantastic fin de siècle structure was designed by Gustave Eiffel's student, Emile Ricquier, and inaugurated by Jules Verne, who was at the time a town councillor.