We have friends from Seattle staying for 2 weeks in Paris. They will be taking the train to re-visit Chartres, but i offered to drive them to ONE of my favorites and thought maybe you could help choose. I prefer Amiens because the facade is great, with a hedgehog included and inside there's the head of John the Baptist, plus the town has lovely canals; Reims is pretty good with Chagall stained glass and the city has a nice fine arts museum (would skip champange tours, just have a glass at home); and Rouen is perfect for Monet fans. It also has a good fine arts museum, and my husband's favorite Afghan restaurant. If you have visited any or all of the above your vote would be appreciated.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
We did see the cathedral of Amiens and spent half a day in Rouen with our kids when they were 4 and 6 years old.
The cathedral of Amiens blew my 6yo away, especially John the Baptist. For the remainder of the trip she pulled us into every single church we came across and wanted to see the inside! For us this was a perfect lunch stop on the drive from Germany to Brittany. So we didn't see anything else of the city.
In Rouen we walked in the footsteps of Jean d'Arc. Didn't even know that there are any Monet around. We also liked the Aître Saint-Maclou (talking about the Plague) and the Le Secq des Tournelles, a museum of iron works like we've never seen before or since then.
I couldn't really decide between the two of them, each has its very particular charme. But if your friends have seen the cathedral of Chartres then I'd say that the one in Amiens would be very similar and maybe not add much. But if this trip is meant instead of their train ride to Chartres then I'd ask them if after seeing Notre Dame in Paris they want to see another important cathedral or if they want to experience something different.
Posted by
OP
la frette sur seine
448 posts
Hoping for more opinions..The friends will be staying near NotreDame de Paris and their train trip to Chartres in not optional. Thanks
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Regina: Your preference for Amiens seems well thought out and well stated in your original post. If your preferences are similar to those of your friends, Amiens sounds like a great choice.
Posted by
Grapevine, TX, USA
875 posts
I have only been to Chartres, Reims, and Notre Dame in Paris (so far). We really loved Reims -- much more so than the other two. Still looking forward to going to Rouen and Amiens.