Issue No. 25

Water market
At the foot of the Cathedral, the weekly
Saturday morning market along the pretty
Quai Belu in the old district of St Leu with its
higgledy piggledy colourful houses, has a
lovely, festive atmosphere. The market on
the water as it’s known, is where the market
gardeners of the hortillonnages sell their
produce and have done so for centuries.
Almost everything here comes from the
hortillonnages or around the Somme area -
from flowers and vegetables to wild herbs,
cheese, honey, charcuterie and even beer.
Every third Saturday in June, the market
gardeners arrive by traditional flat bottomed
boat to sell their goods at the “Marche sur
l’Eau” (water market). It’s a very colourful
and merry event and the market traders
dress in medieval costume in this homage to
the days of old when market trade was
conducted from boats. It’s a delicious day
out and lots of fun.
Jules Verne’s house
You mustn’t miss a visit to the home of one
of France’s great writers. Jules Verne has
inspired generations for more than 100 years
with his tales of adventure, science and
daring do. He wrote many of his stories right
here in Amiens where he lived for 18 years.
His 19th century mansion has been restored
to look just as it did in the late 1800s when
he filled his rooms with the reference books,
geographical surveys and scientific reports
which inspired his fantastic stories of
journeys to the centre of the earth, the
moon, under the sea and of course, around
the world in 80 days.