essentials by olivier durand

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Bay of Somme The Picardy Coast

27/02/09

L'Essentiel angl 2009-2:Layout 1

The Bay of Somme, the most beautiful bay in the world The Bay of Somme is a member of the ‘Club of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World’, with its expanses of open water, marshes, dunes and saltwater meadows where the sea, the land and the sky seem to merge. Enjoy walks that will leave you light-headed from the bracing sea air with a landscape of monochromes in grey, beige or white and vast skies and light effects reminiscent of opal and mother-of-pearl. The site is a major French stopover for migrating birds. Wigeon, Sheld Duck, Curlew and Oystercatchers mix with harbour seals in the Bay and the sheep on the salt marshes. At low tide you can walk over the golden sands with a guide.

we’re rambling, I put people at ease, I stimulate their curiosity, “ IWhile make them laugh … I get them to ‘taste’ everything through their pores.

“

Every day except 25/12 and 01/01.

The Somme Bay Railway

Lanchères

✆ +33(0)322269393 • www.maisondeloiseau.com

Discover the Bay of Some on a vintage train dating from the early 20th Century. Authentic wagons from the Belle Epoque drawn by valiant steam engines run between Crotoy, Noyelles-sur-Mer, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Cayeux-sur-Mer. Hear the engine whistle and you’re off for a ride 80 years into the past! All aboard!

Every day except 25/12 and 01/01.

From May to mid-September: every day. In April, late September and the Halloween holiday: every day except Mondays and Fridays. In October: weekends. Saint-Valery-sur-Somme ✆ +33(0)322269696 www.chemin-fer-baie-somme.asso.fr

In April, nature enthusiasts and bird watchers gather at the Bird and Nature Festival ! The Festival is committed to protecting nature and the environment, offering many cultural, informative, festive and friendly ways to learn more about the Bay of Somme’s natural treasures! www.bird-nature-festival.co.uk

Les jardins et l’abbaye de Valloires

The Collegiate Church of Saint-Vulfran

Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont

✆ +33(0)322256899 • www.parcdumarquenterre.com

Make a trip to Argoules, in the Valley of the Authie, to visit the only intact 18th Century Cistercian Abbey in France, with a traditional cloister, vaulted Chapter House, rooms with Louis XV décor and 13th Century paintings. The Abbey Church is particularly worth visiting with its organ, wrought-iron railings, tombs, sculptures in wood, lead and marble, and papier mâché angels suspended from the ceiling. “One of the last fruits of the flowering of Baroque art.”

Beside the Abbey, 5,000 species and varieties of plants are laid out in 20 acres (8 hectares) of greenery landscaped by Gilles Clément. From season to season, you will see splendid displays of cherry blossom, the sight and scent of thousands of roses, including of course the Rose de Picardie©, the colours of autumn, the interactive garden for the five senses designed for children and the great “Garden of Evolution” that tells the story of the life of plants over the last 400 million years.

Guided visits every day from mid-March to mid-November. Argoules ✆ +33(0)322296233 • www.abbaye-valloires.com

The park is a stopover favoured by thousands of migrating birds and offers two different trails for observing them from sheltered positions at the heart of the Bay of Somme nature reserve. Concealed in hides, you can watch the wildlife and observe migrating species that use the area as a haven on their way between Scandinavia and Mauritania.

A centre where you can get to know, see and hear the Bay of Somme, how it changes, its flora and fauna, and most particularly its colony of seals. An excellent introduction for learning to identify birds by their silhouette, their plumage and colouring, the shape of their beaks and legs. There is also a show of free-flying birds of prey to conclude the visit.

Le Parc du Marquenterre

La Maison de la Baie de Somme et de l’Oiseau

Jean-Michel Doliger, Nature guide

Abbeville Tourist Office ✆ +33(0)322242792 • www.ot-abbeville.fr

I make them feel the different kinds of light, from the sky and from the ground. I encourage them to taste the marsh-plants, like samphire and aster tripolium, that we call pigs’ ears.

Open every day from mid-March to mid-November.

As impressive as a cathedral, the church is a masterpiece of Late or Flamboyant Gothic, famous for its elegant façade, its fine rose window and the symmetry of its soaring towers.

Argoules

✆ +33(0)3 22235355 • www.jardinsdevalloires.com

Every day except two weeks in January, 25 December and 1 January. Abbeville Tourist Office

✆ +33(0)322242792 • www.ot-abbeville.fr

a sight you will remember forever.

“

as the last rays “ Saint-Vulfran of the Sun caress its towers is

Victor Hugo Abbey and Abbey Church of Saint-Riquier

An impressive 15th Century fortress built all in curves! Its enormous round towers, with machicolations set in their walkways, make the castle a remarkable example of 15th Century military architecture. France’s Henri IV was often a guest in the King’s Bedroom! In the 24-acre (10-hectare) English-style garden, listed as a Jardin Remarquable, you can smell more than 300 varieties of roses.

The Abbey Church is a lesson in the history of Gothic Art; its ‘flamboyant’ Late Gothic façade is covered with sculptures. Inside you will find many statues, fine examples of the work of Picard craftsmen, and magnificent wall paintings in the Treasury. The Abbey now houses a Somme département museum devoted to rural life and crafts.

Rambures © CRT Picardie / baieattitude.com

✆ +33(0)322251093 • www.chateaufort-rambures.com

Abbey Church: every day from April to October except during the Festival. Abbey: every day from mid-March to mid-November, Fridays and weekends from mid-November to mid-December.

The Forest of Crécy The state forest of Crécy is the largest wooded area in the Somme département covering more than 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) and was the site of the famous battle during the Hundred Years War. Beech and oak are the main species of tree. The forest includes 23 remarkable specimens, 30 miles (47 km) of bridle paths and 8 well-marked trails.

✆ +33(0)322718220

From March to October: every day except Wednesdays. From November to February: Sundays and holidays (except 25/12 and 01/01).

Rambures Castle

In July, music-lovers gather at the Saint-Riquier Classical Music Festival to hear the vaulted ceilings of the

Office National des Forêts Forest-L’Abbaye • ✆ +33(0)322283162

Abbey Church echo to the performances of renowned orchestras and soloists. In 25 years, the festival has become the musical event of the North of France.

✆ +33(0)322718210 • www.festival-de-saint-riquier.fr

The Somme really so close By motorway

A1 (Paris-Lille) A16 (Paris-Calais) A26 (Calais-Reims) A28 (Abbeville-Rouen) A29 (Reims-Rouen)

By train Lines between Paris-Lille or Paris-Calais © Edigraphie “Haute Picardie” high-speed train (TGV) station

By plane

By sea

Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport Beauvais-Tillé Airport

The ports of Dieppe and Calais (Ferries and the Channel Tunnel)

Albert-Picardie Airport © Edigraphie

COMITÉ DU TOURISME DE LA SOMME

For full tourist information, visit Find special ideas for weekends on

21, rue Ernest Cauvin - 80000 Amiens - FRANCE Tél. : +33 (0) 322 71 22 71 - Fax : +33 (0) 322 71 22 69 Email : accueil@somme-tourisme.com - www.somme-tourisme.com

garance • 03 22 80 08 41 • 02/09 © Edigraphie

the

meet the nature, meet the people

Essentials

2009

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Amiens

The Notre-Dame Cathedral of Amiens Picardy has been justly called the cradle of Gothic. The fine, pure, soaring lines of the Cathedral of Amiens are its finest example of Gothic architecture. It is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and the harmony and purity of its proportions, its abundant statuary and lacy stonework make it one of the finest examples of Gothic Art. Its volume is twice that of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and its nave is the tallest in the world!

The Amien region

L. Rousselin © Skertzò pour Amiens Métropole

Every day • Amiens Tourist Office ✆ +33(0)322716050 • www.amiens-tourisme.com

Samara

Discover both the imaginary and the everyday’s world of this famous writer. The house was restored in 2006, and now displays more than 700 objects revealing the personality of Jules Verne, his sources of inspiration and other memorabilia. In this luxurious 19th Century town house, known as la Maison à la Tour (Tower House), Jules Verne wrote most of his ‘Extraordinary Voyages’. Tour the house from the winter garden to the attic and relive the adventures of his heroes.

Amiens ✆ +33(0)322921218 • www.amiens-tourisme.com

Go back to prehistoric times and see how our ancestors lived! From the conquest of fire to the Gallo-Roman period, 600,000 years of the story of Mankind are retold in a lively and realistic way through 1,200 m2 of exhibits, reconstitutions of living conditions, astonishing animated displays (fire lighting, hunting with the atlatl or throwing stick) and craft demonstrations (pottery, flint making, metal-forging etc).

The House of Jules Verne

Guided tours are available in electrically-powered craft. Every day from April to October.

These ‘floating gardens’ have been cultivated since the Middle Ages and form an unusual patchwork of vegetable and flower gardens close to the centre of Amiens. Wrapped in the arms of the Somme and Avre Rivers, the plots are separated by little channels, called “rieux” in the Picard dialect. They can be toured in the traditional high-prowed vessels.

The ‘Hortillonnages’ (market gardens set between waterways)

Opening times: 10.45pm in June, 10.30pm in July, 10.00pm in August, 9.45pm in September, 7pm in December.

“

Alain Dupont, Les calèches de Samarobriva

In summer and December, after nightfall, a light show called ‘The Cathedral in Colour’ brings back to life the saints, apostles and other figures crowding the western façade of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Amiens, through the projection of digital colour images.

“

My horse-drawn carriage is a wonderful ‘alternative’ way for visitors to explore Amiens. I show them the Saint-Leu district, the oldest part of Amiens, that used to be the weavers and dyers quarter that provided the city’s prosperity.

Every day from mid-March to the beginning of November. La Chaussée-Tirancourt ✆ +33(0)322518283 • www.samara.fr

From mid-April to mid-October: every day except Tuesday mornings. From mid-October to mid-April: every day except Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sunday mornings. Amiens

D.R.

‘Le Souffle de la Terre’ (The Breath of the Earth) is a lively and enjoyable costume drama with 2,800 different characters enthusiastically demonstrating the real personality of Picardy. Performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 9.30pm from the end of August to the end of September.

The zoo A key mission for zoos in the 21st Century is the preservation of biodiversity. The zoo at Amiens participates in breeding programmes for endangered species such as red pandas or the maned wolf. Its 15 acres (6 hectares) contain 300 members of some 60 species, including elephants, penguins, sea lions and many others.

The Picardy Museum This is one of France’s finest museums, housed in a typical Napoléon III style building and possessing a wealth of collections ranging from pre-history to the 20th Century.

Amiens • ✆ +33(0)322971400 • www.amiens.fr/musees

Amiens • ✆ +33(0)322696100 • www.amiens.com/zoo

The underground city of Naours The 28 galleries and 300 chambers hollowed out of the limestone of the Picardy plateau could shelter 2,600 people and their flocks. In the Picard dialect, these hidden refuges are called “muches”. They were remarkably well organised and include 300 chambers, public “squares”, stables, wells, chimneys and a chapel with three naves. This underground complex was used by the British during the First World War and as a command post by the German Army in the Second World War.

Every day from the end of January to the beginning of November.

Every day except Mondays and certain holidays. Closed or partially closed until September 2010.

From April to September and during school holidays: every day. February, March, October, November: Wednesdays, weekends and holidays. December and January: Sundays. Closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January.

Ailly-sur-Noye • ✆ +33(0)322410690 www.aillysurnoye.com

Naours

✆ +33(0)322937178 • www.grottesdenaours.com

Upper Somme

Valley

A sound and light show

✆ +33(0)322454575 • www.amiens.com/julesverne

The pools of the Upper Somme As the river winds its way from its source to the Bay of Somme, it leaves behind a mosaic of cut-offs or pools. They offer many fine walks where you can admire the mists moving over the surface of the waters and feel as though you are in a magical water-world. You may see “anguillères” (eel traps) and the area is popular for carp and pike-fishing. You can also admire the beauty of the pools of the Upper Somme from specially-designed viewing points overlooking the valley (Belvédère de Vaux, Frise). Fishermen and walkers alike love the pools of the Upper Somme. From the banks you may see the shining scales of carp, enjoying the calm of the surroundings - just like you. © tibo@images.fr

Upper Somme Tourist Office ✆ +33(0)322844238 • www.hautesomme-tourisme.com

I love the region especially for its history “ and the memories rooted in the land. Heritage tourism

is not very conventional; it's a kind of tourism dictated by the heart and emotions.

“

Peter Smith, from Britain, resident of Picardy

Remembrance Tour

The Museum of the Great War will help you understand the causes, consequences and unfolding of the conflict, the daily life at the front and in the rear as well as the political, social and cultural aspects. Every day, closed from mid-December to mid-January.

Every day • Ovillers-la-Boisselle

Péronne • ✆ +33(0)322831418 • www.historial.org

The South African National Memorial and Museum : are set in the heart of Delville Wood, nicknamed “Devil’s Wood”, in homage to the South African soldiers who first came under fire here. Out of 3,200 men who took part in the attack on July 15th 1916, only 143 returned unscathed from five days of action.

The Somme Trench Museum depicts the lives of the soldiers in the trenches during the offensive that started on July 1st 1916. Sounds, images and lighting effects evoke the daily lives of the soldiers. Every day from February to mid-December.

Memorial open all year round. Museum open every day from February to the end of November, except Mondays, holidays and two weeks in August. Longueval

The South African National Memorial pays homage to the Australian soldiers who were lost in action during the Great War. This is where they finally halted the German offensive in April 1918. Every day • Villers-Bretonneux

The France-Australia Museum describes the role played by Australian troops during the First World War.

D.R.

The Upper Somme Light Railway The small train wanders along the banks of the Somme. Lovers of old railways will be delighted by the tunnel, the high bridge, the zig-zag reverse climb, the gradient through the forest, not forgetting the wooden seats, a bumpy and perhaps even a smoky ride! And just think that this line once carried the soldiers to the Great War!

Mondays to Saturdays from 6 January to 20 December. Villers-Bretonneux ✆ +33(0)322968079 • www.museeaustralien.com

The French-British Memorial of Thiepval is an imposing 45m-high brick and stone monument designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens as a memorial to the 73,367 British and South African soldiers who were killed between July 1915 and March 1918 and who have no known graves. Their names are carved on the 16 pillars that support the monument. The visitor centre has an interpretation area explaining the Battles of the Somme.

Amiens ✆ +33(0)322225897 www.amiens-tourisme.com Abbeville www.ville-abbeville.fr Doullens et Lucheux

✆ +33(0)322325452

doullenstourisme.free.fr

Every day; annual closure in December. Thiepval • ✆ +33(0)322746047 • www.historial.org

23 belfries in Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the Somme were placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in July 2005! Belfries were originally erected as a sign that a commune was independent and free. Over the centuries, they became a symbol of the commune’s power and prosperity.

✆ +33(0)322240849

Belfries

Sundays and holidays from May to the end of September and every day except Monday from mid-July to the end of August.

Rue ✆ +33(0)322256994 www.ville-rue.fr Saint-Riquier

✆ +33(0)322289172 www.saint-riquier.com

Albert ✆ +33(0)322751617 • www.musee-somme-1916.eu

Every day Beaumont-Hamel ✆ +33(0)322767086

www.somme14-18.com

The Newfoundland Memorial includes a well-preserved network of trenches providing a moving and realistic vision of battle conditions. There is also an interpretation centre for further explanations.

Lochnagar Crater : this enormous mine crater, 300 feet from rim to rim and 90 feet deep, was created by an explosion at 7.28am on July 1st 1916, one of the series that marked the start of the Battle of the Somme by British troops.

The Somme was deeply scarred by the First World War. The battle of 1916 was fought on a vast scale, in terms of the number of countries involved, the number of deaths, missing in action or wounded on both sides and also in terms of traces left in the ground: trenches, mine craters, vegetation destroyed, villages reduced to rubble. The Remembrance Circuit, an itinerary linking two cities which symbolize the First World War, Albert and Péronne, will enable you to discover and understand this page of the world’s history.