The floating gardens

Within the heart of Amiens city Within the heart of Amiens city, the Hortillonnages extend for some 300 hectares. Dating back to Gallo-Roman times, the gardens surrounded by water are still used for market-gardening.

Just a short walk from the centre of Amiens, you’ll find the Hortillonages (market gardens and in Picard = maraîcher), which cover an area of almost 300 hectares. These gardens surrounded by water were developed on marshland during the Gallo-Roman period. The gardens are made up of numerous plots of land, criss-crossed by canals, the “rieux”, which are navigable by flat-bottomed boats known as “barques à cornets".

At the beginning of the 19th century, there were around a thousand market gardens but today there are just a dozen or so remaining, used for growing fruit and vegetables. Today, the market still takes place, every Saturday morning, on the Quai Parmentier in Amiens. The Hortillonages are unique in France and are listed in the National Inventory of Sites as well as being a UNESCO world heritage site.