Amiens Cathedral

High Gothic Cathedral Begun In 1220, Usually Described As The Largest Gothic Cathedral In France By Interior Volume; UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 1981 · Amiens, Hauts-de-France

Amiens Cathedral, Notre-Dame d'Amiens, is a High Gothic cathedral in the capital of Picardy, begun in 1220 and built largely within a few decades, which gives it an unusual unity of style. It is usually described as the largest Gothic cathedral in France by interior volume, and the stone vault of the nave rises to roughly 42 metres, among the tallest completed Gothic naves anywhere. The west front is covered in carved figures of prophets, apostles and saints, with the calm Christ known as the Beau Dieu on the central door. Inside, the early sixteenth-century oak choir stalls hold thousands of small carved figures, and an octagonal labyrinth is laid into the nave floor. On many summer evenings and around Christmas a colour light show projects the medieval paint back onto the façade; confirm the dates. The cathedral was listed by UNESCO in 1981. Amiens itself is about an hour by train from Paris and has the canal quarter of Saint-Leu, the floating gardens of the Hortillonnages and the house of Jules Verne.

30 Place Notre-Dame, 80000 Amiens, Somme, Amiens, Hauts-de-France, France

The cathedral is a working parish church and is normally open to visitors every day of the year, with longer opening in the summer season and shorter days from autumn to spring; confirm the current pattern before a trip. Entry to the nave is free. Visiting is limited during Masses, weddings and funerals, and on Sunday mornings and great feasts such as Christmas and Easter the church is given over to worship, so plan a weekday or a Sunday afternoon for a proper look. The towers and the upper galleries are reached only on paid guided visits at set times, which are fewer in winter and can be cancelled in bad weather; ask at the cathedral or the tourist office opposite the west front and book ahead in summer. The treasury has its own, shorter opening. The façade colour light show runs after dark on many evenings from roughly mid-June to mid-September and again over the Christmas and New Year period, starting later in midsummer because the sky must be dark; it is free and outdoors, and dates and times change each year, so confirm them. The Hortillonnages boat trips run only in the warm months, roughly spring to early autumn.

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