The floating gardens of Amiens

 

Introduction

A ten-minute walk from the cathedral, and already in the countryside! To enter the floating gardens of Amiens, the best solution remains the visit by flat-bottomed boat from the pier. 

The towpath along the Somme river allows you to have a glimpse of this mosaic of plots of land separated by canals that market gardeners used to exploit since the Middle Ages. There are only ten or so of them left today, most of the islands being pleasure gardens, which their owners access via astonishing footbridges. Made of wrought iron, wood, or even concrete, they have nothing of the Rialto, but are worth the detour.