France's largest Gothic cathedral (UNESCO-listed), a maze of floating market gardens you tour by boat, and a canal quarter that genuinely earns the nickname "little Venice of the North" — all comfortably inside a round trip on one charge.
Amiens Cathedral (Notre-Dame d'Amiens) is the largest Gothic cathedral in France by volume — bigger than Notre-Dame de Paris — and it's free to walk into, any day. Behind it, the Hortillonnages are a 300-hectare patchwork of market-garden islands threaded by canals, still tended by a handful of hortillons and toured by flat-bottomed boat. In between, the Saint-Leu quarter stacks colourful houses along canal footbridges, with picarde comfort food (the famous ficelle picarde crêpe, and the "macaron d'Amiens," a soft almond biscuit unrelated to the Parisian kind) served canalside. It's a two-hour drive that feels like a different region entirely.
Drive up mid-morning — the route runs largely via the A16 motorway, with tolls around €7–8 one-way. Arrive early afternoon and head straight for Notre-Dame d'Amiens Cathedral: free entry, and worth 45 minutes just walking the nave and west-front portals (the "Bible in stone" carved tympanums are the real draw). From there it's a 10–15 minute walk down to Saint-Leu, the old tanners' and dyers' quarter, criss-crossed by canals off the Somme and Avre — wander the footbridges and Quai Bélu before dinner.
Book a morning slot for the classic Hortillonnages boat tour (Association pour la Sauvegarde des Hortillonnages) — a roughly 45-minute punted-barge circuit through the floating gardens' canals, in the €7–10 range per adult for the standard trip. If you want something longer, private guided tours run from about €50 (Express, 2h, solo) up to €125+ (Ultime, 4h) — but the standard short tour is the classic, affordable version and plenty to see the islands, plots, and herons. Grab a last coffee in Saint-Leu, then head home.
The Somme towpaths and the Hortillonnages perimeter have flat, easy cycling paths — a good option for an early-morning ride along the water before the boat tour, or a loop out to the quieter northern islands of the Hortillonnages that most boat tours don't reach. Bike loaded inside per the Car Camping & Bike Guide, no rack, no range hit.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tolls (A16, round trip) | ≈ €14–16 |
| Charging | €0 (round trip within a single charge) |
| Lodging (free Bd Faidherbe lot, or ~€25–30/night Camping des Cygnes incl. taxe de séjour) | €0–30 |
| Cathedral entry & Chroma light show | €0 (both free) |
| Hortillonnages boat tour | ≈ €7–10 |
| Treat meal (ficelle picarde) + macarons d'Amiens box | ≈ €18–22 |
| Food (self-cooked, remaining meals) | ≈ €15–20 |
| Total | €55–95 |