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Picardie, France

Make the most of your time in Picardie, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links to plan your visit.

With the national capital to one side and the English Channel to the other, the French region of Picardie takes up its position in the north of France and is full of history, charm and beauty. It is a land of castles, forests, cathedrals and historic towns, making it a particularly interesting and picturesque place to visit. Indeed, the camera should be full of pictures after a visit to this, one of the country’s oldest provinces. Picardie is, of course, the region in which one of the most bloody and indeed infamous First World War battles took place – namely, the Battle of the Somme.

Picardie shares a very short border with Belgium to its north-east and has a short coast line to its north-west; meanwhile, it is next to the country’s northernmost division Nord Pas de Calais to the north, the populous Ile-de-France to the south, Normandy to the west and Champagne-Ardennes to the east. This means the port of Calais is just an hour or so away from some parts of Picardie, while capital city Paris is less than half-an-hour from some sections. Indeed, parts of southern Picardie are even classed as part of Paris’ metropolitan area.

Amiens is the administrative capital of Picardie and is home to a university and a particularly impressive Gothic cathedral (pictured), while it was formerly the home of writer Jules Verne. Writers have often found the beauty and history of the division inspirational for their poems, tales and stories; the likes of Ruskin, Robert Louis Stevenson and La Fontaine all making use of the region in their writings and quotes.

The modern day area known as Picardie is a little larger than the previous boundaries of Picardy, although the older entity did push its boundaries as far as Flanders in the north at one time. Over years, however, it shrank and was even given parts of Ile-de-France in an effort to bulk it up and justify its position as one of the country’s 26 sub-divisions. Today it is home to somewhere approaching two million inhabitants, putting it 12th on the list of France’s most populated regions.

As well as the aforementioned castles, cathedrals and forests, there are also vineyards and much open countryside, allowing for activities such as walking and cycling. The coastline ensures the presence of some beaches and the possibility to enjoy any number of water sports. It is, though, the likes of the Cistercian Abbey in the Vauclair Forest, the 13th century Chateau de Coucy in the Forest of Saint Gobain, the Notre-Dame cathedral in Soissons, the Chateau de Compiegne and the Chateau de Chantilly for which the region is most well-known and loved. In addition to these there are also the 47-metre-high cathedral in Noyna which is the highest of the Notre-Dames and the Saint Pierre Cathedral in Beauvais which stretches up an incredible 225 feet.

Further exploration of the culture shows a particular type of house to be prevalent in Picardy; that is those with dark red bricks. In many parts of the region the language known as Picard is still spoken, adding a sense of local identity to the people. This is re-enforced by the use of a regional song called the P’tit quinquin which offers another solid symbol of the local culture.
 

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