Buildings
Amiens Cathedral
Amiens, Somme
The largest Gothic cathedral in France, built in the 13th century, with a nave so vast that two Notre-Dames of Paris would fit inside.
Travel tips in Hauts-de-France, France
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Country facts
Natural features
Baie de Somme
Le Crotoy, Somme
A huge tidal bay of sandflats and salt marshes, one of the most beautiful in the world, home to France's largest colony of seals.
Walks and treks
Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez
Sangatte, Pas-de-Calais
Two great headlands on the Opal Coast facing England across the narrowest part of the Channel: the white chalk cliffs of Blanc-Nez and the grey rocks…
Historic sites
Château de Pierrefonds
Pierrefonds, Oise
A fairytale castle with towers, battlements and a drawbridge, rebuilt from medieval ruins in the 1860s by the architect Viollet-le-Duc for Napoleon I…
Historic sites
Château de Coucy
Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique, Aisne
The ruins of one of the mightiest castles of the Middle Ages, built in the 13th century by the powerful lords of Coucy, on a spur above the Ailette v…
Historic sites
Château de Villers-Cotterêts
Villers-Cotterêts, Aisne
The Renaissance château of François I, where in 1539 he signed the ordinance that made French the language of law and government.
Buildings
Villa Cavrois
Croix, Nord
A modernist mansion built in 1932 by Robert Mallet-Stevens for a textile industrialist, with sleek yellow brick walls, a long mirror pool and every d…
Natural features
Dunes de Flandre
Bray-Dunes, Nord
A protected line of wild sand dunes and long beaches between Dunkirk and the Belgian border, among the oldest dunes in France.