Amiens Cathedral
Amiens is the largest Gothic cathedral in France, and perhaps the purest: built in about fifty years from 1220, to one design, with a nave 42 metres high and a west front crowded with sculpture. It is free to enter. Inside are an octagonal labyrinth in the floor, the finest carved choir stalls in France, painted screens and the famous Weeping Angel. On summer nights the west front is lit with the colours it was once painted.
Built for a relic
In 1206 Walon de Sarton, a canon of nearby Picquigny, brought home from the sack of Constantinople a relic said to be the head of St John the Baptist, and pilgrims flocked to see it. When the old cathedral burned in 1218, Amiens began a new one on a colossal scale. The architect Robert de Luzarches began it in 1220, and Thomas and then Renaud de Cormont carried it on; the main structure was largely finished by about 1270. A stone at the centre of the labyrinth recorded their names and the date of 1288.
The building survived the Revolution and both world wars almost unharmed: in the First World War its doors and treasures were protected by sandbags; the glass was taken out, though much of it was later lost in a fire at the restorers’ workshop in 1920. John Ruskin called it “the Bible of Amiens”. In the 1990s, laser cleaning of the west front revealed traces of its medieval paint. It has been a World Heritage site since 1981.
The visitor’s cheat sheet
| Where | 30 place Notre-Dame, 80000 Amiens |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | April–September 8.30am–6.15pm (to 7.30pm Friday to Sunday); October–March 8.30am–5.15pm (to 6.30pm Friday to Sunday), according to the tourist office. No sightseeing during services |
| Admission | Free. Towers €7 and treasury €5, by guided visit only; free for under-18s, EU residents aged 18–25 and others; both closed on Tuesdays |
| Towers | 45 minutes, 302 steps, afternoons at fixed times; not on Tuesdays; no under-6s. Tickets online from the Centre des monuments nationaux or at the bookshop at the top of the west steps |
| Chroma | Free light show on the west front on summer evenings (11 July–12 September in 2026), with a shorter season from late November through December |
| Getting there | Train from Paris Gare du Nord, about 1–1½ hours; a short walk from Amiens station |
| How long | An hour for the cathedral; add 45 minutes for the towers |
Hours and admission checked against the official site in October 2026. They change; the official site is always the last word.
Free to enter; the towers and the treasury are guided. The cathedral opens at 8.30am every day and stays open later on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The tower climb (€7, 302 steps) and the treasury (€5) can only be seen on guided visits at set times, run by the Centre des monuments nationaux; there are no tower climbs or treasury visits on Tuesdays. Book online or at the bookshop at the top of the west steps.
What to see, in the order you meet it
The west front
Three deep portals fill the west front. In the middle one, Christ stands on the central pillar, known as the Beau Dieu, beneath the Last Judgement; the left portal is dedicated to St Firmin, the first bishop of Amiens, the right one to the Virgin. Below the statues, rows of carved quatrefoils show the virtues and vices, the prophets and the labours of the months.
The nave and the labyrinth
The nave rises 42 metres to the vault, with a band of foliage carving running all the way round below the windows. In the floor of the nave is the labyrinth, an octagon of black and white stone. The original was taken up in the nineteenth century and relaid in 1894; its central stone is in the Musée de Picardie.
The choir stalls and screens
The oak choir stalls, carved between 1508 and 1519, are crowded with more than 4,000 figures: Bible stories, saints and scenes of everyday life in Picardy. You can see them through the choir grilles; the guided visits get you closer. Round the outside of the choir, painted stone screens of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries tell the stories of St Firmin, on the south side, and of St John the Baptist, on the north.
The Weeping Angel and the relic
In the ambulatory behind the choir, on the tomb of Canon Guilain Lucas, sits the Weeping Angel, carved by Nicolas Blasset in 1636: a chubby child with his elbow on a skull and his head on his hand. During the First World War soldiers sent postcards of it home by the thousand. The relic of the head of St John the Baptist is kept in the treasury.
Tickets and tours
Free to enter; book the towers or a guided tour
The cathedral needs no ticket. Tower climbs and treasury visits are booked through the Centre des monuments nationaux or at the cathedral bookshop, and the tourist office opposite the cathedral runs guided tours. Amiens is an easy day trip from Paris or Lille.
Tour and hotel links go to GetYourGuide and Booking.com. This site earns nothing from them at present — they are here because they are the quickest way to check what is actually available.
Don’t miss
- The Beau Dieu Christ on the central pillar of the west front.
- The labyrinth In the floor of the nave.
- The choir stalls More than 4,000 carved figures.
- The Weeping Angel Behind the choir.
- The tower climb 302 steps, past the west rose window.
Insider tips
Stay for the evening. On summer nights the Chroma show projects the colours of the medieval paint back onto the west front, free; it starts after dark, so later in July than in September. Spend the time before it in the Saint-Leu quarter below the cathedral, with its canals and waterside restaurants.
The tower climbs start at fixed times in the afternoon, are limited in numbers and can be cancelled in bad weather; book ahead in summer, and wear proper shoes.
The hortillonnages, the floating market gardens on the edge of the city, can be seen by boat from spring to autumn.
Common questions
Is Amiens Cathedral free to visit?
Yes. The cathedral is free to enter. The tower climb costs €7 and the guided visit of the treasury €5; both are run by the Centre des monuments nationaux, and both are free for under-18s, EU residents aged 18–25, disabled visitors and on the first Sunday of January, February, March and November.
Can you climb the towers of Amiens Cathedral?
Yes, on a guided climb of about 45 minutes and 302 steps, from the south tower past the west rose window to the top of the north tower. Climbs start in the afternoon, at fixed times, and there are none on Tuesdays. Children under six cannot go up.
What is the Weeping Angel of Amiens?
A small marble angel, carved by Nicolas Blasset in 1636 for the tomb of Canon Guilain Lucas, who sits with his head on his hand and his elbow on a skull. Soldiers on the Somme sent postcards of it home by the thousand during the First World War. It is behind the choir, in the ambulatory.
When is the Chroma light show?
In summer, the west front is lit with the colours its sculpture was once painted in, after dark on most evenings from July to mid-September; in 2026 the season ran from 11 July to 12 September. A shorter Christmas season usually runs from late November through December. It is free.
Is Amiens Cathedral bigger than Notre-Dame de Paris?
Yes. With an interior volume of about 200,000 cubic metres, it is the largest Gothic cathedral in France, and more than twice the size of Notre-Dame de Paris.
How do I get to Amiens from Paris?
By train from the Gare du Nord: the fastest take just over an hour, most about an hour and a half. The cathedral is a short walk from Amiens station.
Where to stay and eat nearby
Amiens is compact: the station, the cathedral and the Saint-Leu quarter are all within walking distance, with restaurants along the Quai Bélouet by the river.
More churches in France
- Reims Cathedral — the coronation cathedral, its great rival.
- Basilica of Saint-Denis — where Gothic began, on the way back to Paris.