Picardy

Visit Picardy

Although not the most visited region of France, and despite substantial damage during the First World War, Picardy has a great deal to discover in terms of both natural scenery and historical monuments.

Selected places to visit in Picardy

Picardy, France: introduction and highlights

Northern Picardy is largely a flat or gently undulating area of open fields (including the Somme department, best known for the WWI Battle of the Somme), while the south of Picardy is a scenic region of hills and forests. There are three departments within the Picardy region: Aisne, Oise and Somme.

Among the highlights to discover in Picardy:

- The cathedrals at Amiens (see also Amiens cathedral) and Laon are perhaps two of the best to be found in France, with other cathedrals at Soissons, Noyon and Senlis.

 -The town of Amiens also has some interesting highlights, as do the historical centre and art-deco buildings of Saint-Quentin.

- there are two listed national monuments in Picardy: the Chateau Coucy a few kilometres west of Laon and Pierrefonds Chateau further south towards Paris

- The bird sanctuary at Marquenterre is on the coast south of Le Touquet near Le Crotoy home to the only south facing beach in northern France, and Fort-Mahon-Plage.

- the coastal 'grand randonnee' (GR) path is a good way to see the wild beaches and coastline of the region

- Beauvais is a large town in Picardy, between Paris and Amiens

- one of the classified 'most beautiful villages in France', best known for its picturesque cottages covered by clambering roses, is towards the west of the Oise department at Gerberoy, while another can be seen around the fortified church and red brick buildings in Parfondeval (Aisne)

for more information, see our travel guides for the Aisne and Oise departments

See also our guest article 'reasons to visit Picardy' then find more ideas at Picardy tourist information, with more towns, national monuments, national parks, towns in bloom etc across the Picardy region.

Page in French? See Picardy (Francais)