Picardy

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SOMME- Département 80

The river which gives the département its name has hollowed out the chalky plateau to form a valley through which it meanders before merging into the superb Somme bay. Waters teeming with fish, cliffs, extensive fine-sand beaches and birdlife mean that the Somme can offer both nature lovers and sports enthusiasts a chance to practise their favourite activities. Besides, the Somme is also home to Amiens cathedral, churches and abbey-churches, châteaux, the First World War Museum and the theatre where the Battle of the Somme was fought.

TOWNS: Amiens, Abbeville, Peronne, Montdidier.

OISE- Département 60

The Oise département is a land of treasures. Abundant nature, varied scenery, preserved forests and a history that has given France one of its most splendid bequests, with Cistercian abbeys and cathedrals, medieval châteaux and Renaissance villages, whose charm rings in every place name - Chantilly, Pierrefonds, Compiègne, Senlis, Noyon, Beauvais, to name but a few. The Oise is a land of great beauty, diversity and refinement. Easy to approach and explore, it is an ideal destination for getting away from it all and enjoying its many assets and art of living.

TOWNS: Beauvais, Clermont, Compiègne, Senlis. CHANTILLY, PARC ASTERIX.

AISNE- Département 02

The Aisne is a departement at the crossroads of history with a mosaic of small rivers and green valley. It has the fourth largest number of historical monuments in France and was the birthplace of literary greats such as Lafontaine, Racine, Alexandre Dumas and Paul Claudel. The Aisne is also a departement of vast forests, extensive man-made lakes and champagne, which bubbles merrily from its vineyards. Once you have adopted this superb land as your own, listen out for stories from its illustrious past : the glory days of Laon, a delightful medieval town with eighty historical monuments concentrated within its remparts, the adventures of the fortified churches in the Thiéarche, the Art Deco fever that gripped Saint-Quentin and the destiny of Clovis, who made Soissons the first capital of France.

TOWNS: Laon, St-Quentin, Vervins, Soissons, Château-Thierry.