Introducing Amiens
Some 72 miles north of Paris, Amiens (the capital of Picardy) is an ancient colonial gem that likes to shirk the limelight. The city’s glorious cathedral, built in 1220 as a home for St. John the Baptist’s skull, is the largest Gothic cathedral in France and is a show stealer indeed with portals that display some of the country’s finest Gothic sculptures. Unfurling along the banks of the River Somme, the city’s labyrinthine streets—quaint by day and often seedy by night—are woven between the canals which fostered the city’s evolution from a medieval textile center to a pivotal European trading post.
Throughout the pedestrianized center, Amiens’ magnificent architectural heritage finds expression in the curvilinear forms of the city’s 1920s Art Deco buildings—faithfully recast as department stores, hotels, a cinema, a music conservatory, homes, and apartment buildings—and the muscular, Neoclassical edifices of the prefecture. Lovely St-Leu, the waterfront district with low-slung, rainbow-colored houses, and charming squares, is a wonderful place to stroll, especially early evening when twinkling lights reflect on the water and lively patio cafés spring to life. Jules Verne spent the last 18 years of his life in Amiens, and the 19th-century mansion where he penned most of his work is a worthy pilgrimage for fans of his Voyages Extraordinaires adventure titles.
Airports within a 50-mile radius of Amiens:
- Glisy Airport (LFAY)
- Bray Airport (LFAQ)
- Abbeville Airport (XAB)
Popular aircraft charters* in the area of Amiens include:
- Citation Excel (super light)
- Learjet 45 XR (super light)
- Citation CJ3 (light)
- Learjet 31ER 400A (light)
- Learjet 60 XR (midsize)
- Citation III (midsize)
- Gulfstream G200 (super midsize)
- Citation Sovereign (super midsize)
*This is just a sample. Zephyr provides access to aircraft at every end of the spectrum, from luxurious VIP airliners, to ultra long range business jet, helicopters, and economical turboprops.
