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Most of what there is to do in Amiens clusters within a 20-minute walk of the cathedral, so you can cover the headline sights in two days. Entry to the cathedral itself is free, as are the Musée de Picardie and the zoo, which keeps a short trip cheap. Book tower tours and boat trips ahead in July and August. See our weather by month guide for more.
Things to Do in Amiens: Notre-Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame d’Amiens Cathedral
The largest Gothic cathedral in France, built between 1220 and 1270, runs 145 m long with a nave vaulted to 42.3 m, the tallest complete Gothic nave in the country, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Entry is free; it opens 8:30-17:30 from October to March and 8:30-18:30 from April to September. Climb the 307-step tower circuit for €7 (45 minutes, closed Tuesdays) or join the €5 treasury tour. Look for the weeping angel over the choir and the 16th-century carved stalls. The best time to visit guide covers it in depth.
Les Hortillonnages (Floating Gardens)
A 300-hectare maze of canals, known locally as rieux, and market gardens that have been worked since the Middle Ages. Flat-bottomed barques à cornet boat tours leave from the Port d’Amont at 54 boulevard de Beauvillé, run about 45 minutes and cost roughly €7-9 per adult, daily from April to October. Arrive early on summer weekends, when the afternoon slots sell out. Our events and festivals breakdown has the specifics.
Maison de Jules Verne
The author lived in this turreted townhouse at 2 rue Charles-Dubois from 1882 to 1900 and wrote many novels here. The museum recreates his study and collections and costs about €8; it opens 10:00-12:30 and 14:00-18:30, closed Tuesdays. Budget 60-90 minutes. Compare with the where to stay guide before you book.
Saint-Leu Quarter
The medieval canal district on the Somme’s north bank, with timber-framed houses painted in bright colours and the liveliest stretch of bars and restaurants along the quai Bélu. Walk from the cathedral in 5 minutes, then follow the towpath west to the Parc Saint-Pierre. Evenings here run late in summer, especially during the Fête au Bord de l’Eau. For the overview, see the Amiens guide.
Musée de Picardie
A fine-arts museum in a Second Empire palace at 48 rue de la République, reopened in 2020 after a full renovation, covering archaeology through to 19th-century painting. Admission is free and it opens Tuesday to Sunday. It sits 5 minutes’ walk north of the station.
Parc Saint-Pierre and the Somme
A 22-hectare green space wrapping a bend of the Somme west of Saint-Leu, with a boating lake, playgrounds and running paths. It’s free and open all day, and the 30-minute circuit from the cathedral along the towpath is the city’s most popular walk.
Amiens Zoo
The Parc zoologique d’Amiens on the Esplanade de la Hotoie, about 15 minutes’ walk west of the centre, keeps around 60 species and is free to enter. It opens daily year-round; check seasonal closing times on the city website.
Tour Perret
A 110 m concrete tower on Place Alphonse-Fiquet, built 1949-1952 and France’s first skyscraper, reopened to visitors in the 2020s with an observation deck. It stands directly beside the railway station, so it’s an easy first or last stop.
Somme Battlefields Day Trip
The First World War front line runs within a 30-45 minute drive: the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux and the Lochnagar Crater at La Boisselle. Local guides and minibus tours leave from Amiens in summer, typically €40-60 per person for a half day. Our travel tips and FAQ guide covers transport, and the neighborhoods guide maps where each sight sits.
