Somme, France

Somme Self-catering rental homes -  Somme Accommodation

Somme is a department located in the north of France and named after the Somme River. It is part of the Picardie region – yet it is the north central area of the Somme that was the site of a series of battles through the Great War. Particularly significant was the 1916 Battle of the Somme. As a result of this and other battles fought in the area, the department is home to many military cemeteries and several major monuments commemorating the many soldiers from various countries who died on its battlefields.

Amiens is the capital of the department and nestles on the Somme basin where the rivers Selle, Avre and the Somme meet – be sure to visit the Somme and its rich and historic capital! Most visitors come to Amiens to visit the largest cathedral in France - Cathedrale de Notre Dame.  A gigantic Gothic structure, it was built from the profits of woad (a plant prized for its blue dye) to house the head of John the Baptist.   Other reasons for coming to Amiens include the picturesque medieval quarter, St-Leu with its canal side cottages, waterside restaurants and bars. 

Amiens is also known for the hortillonnages –these are gardens on small islands along the Somme River, surrounded by a grid network of man-made canals.

Abbeville is located on the Somme River and is a great base for exploring the Picardie coastline’s bird sanctuaries, dunes, forests and marshlands when you rent a holiday home in Somme.  Here you'll find the delightful fishing village of Le Crotoy that bewitched Colette, Jules Verne, & the Duke and Duchess of Windsor among others.

Despite being badly bombed during the Second World War architectural delights still exist in Abbeville including the Eglise Saint-Sepulcre which dates back to the 15th century and the Collegial Saint-Vulfran - a 13th century belfry and perhaps the oldest in France.

Travelling to your Holiday Accommodation in Somme, France

By road: Amiens is served by several motorways: A16 to Calais via Abbeville and Boulogne-sur-mer; A16 to Paris via Beauvais; A29 to Rouen and Le Havre via Neufchâtel-en-Bray; A29 to Reims via Saint-Quentin and Laon. By rail: Amiens has two stations: the Gare d'Amiens (the former Gare du Nord) and the Gare de Saint-Roch (Somme), with connections: to Lille via Arras and Douai;  to Boulogne via Abbeville; to Paris-Nord via Creil or Compiègne; to Reims via Tergnier; to Rouen. The station Gare TGV Haute-Picardie on the TGV line Lille-Paris is reachable by bus from Amiens. By air: Amiens’s nearest international airport for direct UK flights is Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Air France operates flights from the major UK cities into the airport, as does Easyjet. BMIbaby and CityJet also offer services from East Midlands and then Birmingham, Dublin and Edinburgh respectively.